Chapter LIII: ). As organic iron is more easily assimilated, this form is

to be preferred, and the question arises: How should we take it? Of all kinds of food used at present, spinach and the yolk of eggs contain the most iron; so we could give these. Fortunately spinach is obtainable at all seasons in the United States. For those who prefer eggs, yolks in quantities large enough to satisfy our needs would not be easily digested, and also as eggs would be difficult to procure fresh every day, we must think of another expedient. We may take iron preparations obtained from the blood of animals. But why not take the blood itself, which contains iron in a form similar to that in our blood, and in larger quantities than in any other food? This would certainly be more efficacious, and also less expensive.

Footnote 300:

Naunyn: In Schwalbe’s Lehrbuch der greisenkrankheiten, Berlin, 1909.

Footnote 301:

Grawitz: Hidem and also in “Klinische Pathologie des Blutes,” third
edition, Leipzig, 1906.

Bunge mentions that the chlorotic girls of Basel (Bâle) come to the slaughterhouses in order to drink the blood of animals that have just been slaughtered. The question arises as to which animal’s blood is the best. That of the pig is preferable for several reasons. Its blood contains much iron (according to Bunge 226 milligrammes in every 100 grammes), its organs are anatomically and histologically very like our own, and the pig is an omnivorous animal, as we are, being able to eat even 14 to 20 pounds of meat a day. Several of the organo-therapeutic preparations, like ovarian extracts, and testicular and kidney extracts, are, if obtained from the pig, more active than those obtained from other animals. And, finally, from pigs’ blood very savory sausages and puddings can be prepared.

In Denmark and Norway a favorite pudding is prepared from pigs’ blood, together with flour, sugar, barley, groats, and raisins, and we have found it very palatable. In these countries many physicians prescribe this pudding and blood sausages (in England called “black puddings”) to chlorotic girls.

We consider pigs’ blood to be of very great value, not only on account of its iron, but also because it contains, as does blood in general (according to Claude Bernard), extracts of the ductless glands in their most assimilable form, and by taking this blood we, at the same time, introduce these organic extracts. To obtain the greatest possible benefit from these properties the blood should be drunk fresh; but as this is not very easy to do for obvious reasons, we can substitute blood sausages and black puddings. Blood contains chemical substances of great importance, as iron, manganese, phosphorus and small quantities of iodine, besides also lecithin, glycogen, glucose, jecorin, etc. It also contains important ferments, as diastase, and sugar- and fat-splitting ferments. Likewise it contains important immunizing substances, opsonins, alexins, etc.

The blood of pigs is very nourishing, for it is rich in albumin. Indeed, considering that this blood is wasted in the slaughter houses, it is necessarily the cheapest kind of food. And it is also an article of food which is easily digested, absorbed, and assimilated. It is hard to understand why this article of diet has not been made more use of long ago. Professor Bunge, the well-known physiologist, likewise strongly recommends the use of blood as an important article of diet. We show in the following table, compiled from the researches of Abderhalden,[302] the composition of pigs’ blood and of ox blood in respect to their nourishing qualities and different mineral contents.

Footnote 302:

Abderhalden: Zeitschrift für Physiolog. Chemie, 1898, 25, 56 (for
pigs’ blood); and Hidem, 1897, 23, 521 (for ox blood).

PIGS’ OX
BLOOD BLOOD
per per
cent. cent.

Water 71.6 80.89

Hæmoglobin 14.22 10.31

Albumin 4.66 6.98

Fat 0.11 0.052

Fatty Acids 0.04

Sugar 0.069 0.02

Cholesterin 0.044 0.199

Lecithin 0.231 0.135

Phosphoric Acid w. 0.006 0.003
Nuclein

Oxide of Iron 0.696 0.054

Calcium 0.068 0.007

Magnesium 0.089 0.004

Potassium 0.2303 0.004

Sodium 0.2406 0.0364

Entire Phosphoric Acid 0.1002 0.0040

Anorg. Phosphoric Acid 0.749 0.017

Chlorides 0.2690

According to the researches of T. König,[303] Farwick and C. Kraut blood sausages have the following composition:—

───────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────
IN THE NATURAL SUBSTANCE │ DRY SUBSTANCE
────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┼────────┬────────┬────────┬────────
│ │ │Nitrogen│ │ │ │
│ Nitro- │ │ Free │ │ Nitro- │ │Nitrogen
Water │ genous │ Fat │Extract │ Ashes │ genous │ Fat │and Dry
│Substance│ │Matters │ │Substance│ │Substance
────────┼────────┬┴───────┬┴───────┬┴───────┬┴───────┬─┴──────┬─┴──────
49.93% │ 11.81% │ 11.48% │ 25.09% │ 1.64 │ 23.59% │ 22.90% │ 3.77%
────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────

Footnote 303:

J. König: “Die menschlichen Nahrungs und Genussmittel,” Berlin, 1903,
I, p. 76.

Experiments were made in England centuries ago by transfusing the blood of young animals into the veins of old animals (sheep, cows, and horses), which latter, by this means, became more lively and active. In some cases the special senses became more acute—hearing especially, according to Dr. Hufeland. On man such transfusion has also been tried; Dever and Riva,[304] in Paris, succeeded in treating certain diseases by transfusion of animals’ blood, and, as Hufeland states, a lunatic recovered his health after transfusion with calves’ blood.

Footnote 304:

Quoted after Hufeland, Makrobiotik, edited by Steinthal, Berlin, p.
13, 1887.

It is strange that this treatment is not more used now. Should we not be able to treat certain diseases, such as old age, by transfusing the blood of younger individuals, or of certain animals? This is certainly a bold question, and we are not yet in a position to answer it definitely. We must take into consideration the fact that the transfusion of blood, even though human, into other individuals presents certain dangers. Bier has tried transfusion in a few cases of lupus, and there appeared at first symptoms of intoxication followed later by a marked amelioration. But if transfusion by present surgical methods is not free from dangers we can give the blood in a more rational manner by the mouth. As Bunge has shown, the hæmatin is absorbed by the intestines, while the diapedesis of the blood corpuscles themselves through the intestines has been demonstrated in the experiments of Grawitz. The serum of Moebius (anti-thyroidin) also acts if taken by the mouth.

At the present time nothing hinders us from using the blood of pigs in the way just mentioned. But care must be taken to obtain fresh and healthy blood. Pigs often get pneumonia through catching cold during transportation. Therefore those pigs whose blood we use must have been previously specially examined.

For this purpose also pigs should not be too fat. As we learned from observations in the slaughter houses, a fat pig of 200 pounds may not have more than a liter of blood, whereas oxen of 900 pounds have nearly 10 to 12 liters of blood. Still, for reasons already mentioned, preference should be given to pigs’ blood.

It is most important that, when the diet consists of much milk and little or no meat, some iron-containing food be taken in addition.

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