Dietary Importance of Meat in Disease 

One of the most important contributions of the science of nutrition to human well-being is in pointing out the benefit of certain foods under certain pathological conditions. Meat has been one of the last foods to be studied in relation to certain diseases. 

Meat and anemia. 

It has been said, "There has been but little significant advancement in the therapy of pernicious anemia from the time that Addison described it in 1855 until the publication in 1926 of the discovery that liver contains a principle which stimulates red blood cell formation." This discovery, after three-quarters of a century without any real progress having been made, ranks in importance with the discovery of insulin. 

The work of Minot and Murphy with human subjects was based on experimental work with dogs by Whipple and co-workers. Whipple's work showed that an animal makes good its losses after a severe hemorrhage much more rapidly if given an abundance of meat, and more recent observations have demonstrated the great value of liver in this respect. 

The application of these findings to the ordinary anemias of adult life and growing children should be apparent. The use of liver, kidney, muscle meat, certain fruits, and green vegetables is necessary. These findings also have an application to the anemias of infancy. Whipple has shown that whole milk is far from having a favorable reaction to blood building. The infant who has developed anemia should have such foods as beef juice, scraped beef, egg yolk, spinach, prunes, and oatmeal along with the milk. 

Recent experiments have shown that an extract made from the stomach of hog is also of great value in the treatment and cure of pernicious anemia. The studies with experimental animals has resulted in saving untold numbers of human lives and the work of Whipple was the first step toward one of the great problems of the medical world.