Abstract
AS the dietary requirements for growth have become more clearly defined with the introduction of purified nutrients, it was soon observed that diets adequate for growth might not suffice for reproduction or lactation, either quantitatively or qualitatively. Quantitative deficiencies are easily remedied: investigation of the qualitative has led to a better appreciation of the part played by protein, salts, and vitamins in nutrition, and to the discovery of a new type of sterility. The young are dependent for their supplies upon the mother until they are weaned: inadequate diets during pregnancy are reflected in the condition of the young when born or later: during lactation such diets result in failure to rear the offspring. The growing organism requires different ratios between the various elements of the food as compared with the adult and the qualitative dietary requirements of the nursing mother depend chiefly on the necessity of satisfying these needs. Thus a relatively greater intake of certain salts and growth-promoting vitamins is required by a nursing mother than by an adult of the same weight who is not being subjected to a similar strain.
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Reproduction, Lactation, and Vitamin E. Nature 122, 136–138 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/122136a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/122136a0