The acid base ratio of the diet in rickets production

Abstract

The results of the work on experimental rickets in rats have shown that rickets can be produced by diets which are poor in phosphorus and rich in calcium or diets which are poor in calcium and rich in phosphorus. A condition produced in that manner can be prevented or restored to normal by exposing the animals to a sufficient amount of light of certain wave lengths or by administering cod liver oil which contains a substance that affects the calcium and phosphorus metabolism. There is no evidence at present that this substance regularly occurs in natural foodstuffs, and, therefore, there seems no valid reason to put it into the class of vitamins. Until it has been shown that the curative agent in cod liver oil is a component of normal foods, we cannot assume that rickets is due to a vitamin deficiency. This, then, leaves us, in spite of the accumulated data on experimental rickets in animals, without any definite information as to the physiological changes which lead to rickets in children since children will develop rickets on diets well balanced with regard to calcium and phosphorus. It is important, therefore, to learn more concerning other factors which influence rickets-production, in order to gain an understanding of the possible causes of human rickets when it is produced under conditions where dietary factors cannot be held responsible. We believe that we have obtained evidence of a factor not taken into consideration in the recent work on experimental rickets. Ernst Schlossl in one of his monographic papers on rickets has called attention to the fact that contrary to the hypothesis held at one time, according to which rickets is due to an acidosis, it is found that rickets seems to develop more frequently under conditions rather the opposite of an acidosis.