"Caloric Values which Every Doctor Should Know by Heart. 

The quantity of carbohydrate, protein and fat found in an ordinary diet must be known by a physician if he wishes to treat a case of diabetes successfully. If he cannot calculate the diet he will lose the respect of his patient. The value of the different foods in the diet can be calculated easily from the diet Table 165. This is purposely simple, because a diet chart, to be useful, must be easily remembered . With these food values as a basis it is possible to give a rough estimate of the value and composition of almost any food . Various foods are also classified according to the content of carbohydrate (see p.435) in 5, 10, 15 and 20 per cent groups, and the lists are so arranged that those first in each group contain the least, those at the end the most . This is a practical and sufficiently accurate arrangement , because except in the most exact experiments the errors in the preparation of the food are too great to warrant closer reckoning. It is practically impossible , except when accurate analyses of the diet are made , to reckon the car bohydrate for the twenty - four hours closer than within 5 to 10 grams , and we had best acknowledge that fact . It is really surprising , however , how reliable the figures are if we do not push the matter to extremes . For example, the protein was analyzed in 10 portions of cooked lean meat, similar to 10 other portions served the same day at the New England Deaconess Hospital. In these analyses it was found that the protein content was 30 per cent . 

Repeatedly physicians have requested me to arrange the above table in terms of household measures. To a considerable extent this is impracticable because the diabetic diet deals with so small a quantity of carbohydrate."