Following the 2-day fasting experiment with A. H. M., December 3 to 5, 1906, a 1-day food experiment was carried out December 5 to 6, in which the somewhat unfortunate attempt was made to have the subject take a considerable amount of olive oil in the form of mayonnaise dressing with lettuce and lemon juice. The results of this experiment are given in table 14. The total amount of food was relatively small, being only 213 grams; the amount of nitrogen in the food was negligible; the total fuel value was 1,109 calories, almost entirely from fat, and a little over one-half the amount necessary for maintenance. Under these conditions there was practically no change in the metabolism, for the slight plus and minus values observed in the several columns can not be considered as any larger than would be normally expected in daily fluctuations.

Table 19. - A. H. M., December 5, 1906. (12-Hour Periods, 9 A. M. To 9 P. M.) Mayonnaise, Lettuce, And Lemon

Amount, 213 grams; nitrogen, 0.37 gram; energy, 1,112 calories. Fuel value: Total, 1,109 calories; from protein, 1 per cent; from fat, 98 per cent; from carbohydrates, 1 per cent.

1Subject finished eating 48 minutes after the beginning of the period.

Since the influence of the food, if any, was slight, there is a possibility that the effect would be shown during the first few hours after the taking of the food, and would thereafter disappear or even be compensated for in a slight degree. It seemed best, therefore, to analyze this particular experiment further. Consequently the values were computed with a subdivision of the day into 12-hour periods. The results for the period from 9 a. m. to 9 p. m. are given in table 19. On this basis we find a slight increase for all three of the values given, amounting to 13 grams for the carbon-dioxide production, 28 grams for the oxygen consumption, and 80 calories for the heat production. Since all of the factors were distinctly higher than those found on either of the two fasting days, it is reasonable to suppose that the increases found represent a positive increment. It is possible that some of this increase may have been due to more activity on the food day in connection with receiving tne food, eating it, returning the dishes, increased water drinking and to defecation.1

1Benedict, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub. No. 77, 1907, p. 388, table 203. 2Benedict, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub. No. 77, 1907, and No. 203, 1915.

Table 20. - A. H. M., December 6, 1906. Sitting. (2-Hour Periods). Mayonnaise, Lettuces And Lemon

Amount, 213 grams; nitrogen, 0.37 gram; energy, 1,112 calories. Fuel value: Total, 1,109 calories; from protein, 1 per cent; from fat, 98 per cent; from carbohydrates, 1 per cent. Basal value (Dec. 3 and 4, 1906), CO2, 52 gms.; O2, 47 gms.; heat, 164 cals.

1Finished eating mayonnaise, lettuce, and lemon 48 minutes after beginning of this period.

Finally, to subdivide this particular experiment still further, the results obtained for the first four 2-hour periods with food - i. e., from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. - are given in table 20; the basal values used are the average of those for the same period of time on the fasting days, and are given in table 21. On this basis it will be seen that there was a positive increase of 15 grams in the carbon-dioxide production in the four 2-hour periods following the ingestion of the oil, 29 grams in the oxygen consumption, and 69 calories in the heat production.

Special attention is given here to the presentation of the results of this particular experiment on account of the rather remarkable contention of Gigon2 that, according to his experience, the ingestion of oil measurably depresses the metabolism. It is perhaps important to note that Gigon gave perfectly pure olive oil, while the oil in our experiment was mixed with a small proportion of lemon juice, egg yolk, and lettuce. While the two series of experiments are not perfectly comparable, nevertheless it is of significance that the depression noted by Gigon is at variance with the increment, slight though it is, shown in our results.

1See statistics for fasting and food days, Dec. 5-6, 1906, on p. 251. 2Gigon, Arch. f. d. ges. Physiol., 1911, 140, p. 509.

Table 21. - Basal Metabolism Of A. H. M., 9 A. M. To 5 P. M., December 3 And 4, 1906

In the 24-hour experiments thus far considered, the base-line was determined immediately prior to the ingestion of the food. In the 24-hour experiment with the subject A. H. M., February 2 to 3, 1906, in which crackers and milk were taken, such basal values were not available. A base-line obtained in an experiment on November 21 to 23, 1905, was therefore used, this being the nearest date on which a fasting value was obtained for this subject. Although the detailed discussion of the fasting experiment with A. H. M., December 3 to 5, 1906, shows that we have available still another fasting value, it did not seem desirable to average the two values for a base-line for this particular food experiment, inasmuch as the metabolism of this subject in the fall of 1905 was distinctly different from that in the latter part of 1906.