Use Of Mineral Matter In Disease

In health, deprivation of salt soon leads to great loss of vitality, but in various diseases reduction in the consumption of salt is known to be beneficial. Thus in such conditions as Bright's Disease, sodium chlorid (common salt), appears to be so injurious that attempts are made to reduce the quantity ingested. This is known as "salt starvation." Epileptics who depend upon bromides to prevent their fits can do with much less of these substances if their salt is cut down, because bromin up to a certain extent displaces the chlorin in such compounds as sodium chlorid, and fails to fulfill its purpose in such a case.

Lime-starvation is also practiced under certain circumstances, and some animals can thrive fairly well if calcium is replaced by strontium, an allied substance never present normally in animal tissues. It is common to find statements that certain serious disorders like calculus disease, rickets, scurvy, tuberculosis, etc., are due primarily to too much or too little of some mineral; but as already stated the real causes must lie deeper, although the possibility of such factors must never be underrated. Scurvy was once held to be due to too much salt, used as preservatives; later it was regarded as due less to excess of some salts than absence of others, as potassium. "We only know that with a more liberal dietary, including vegetables and fruits, it has largely disappeared. Calculus disease of certain kinds is more frequent in districts where drinking water contains much lime, but most people escape the affection.

Children with rickets often improve on preparations containing lime and sodium, as also do scrofulous children, but it is difficult to show that in such cases the remedies act by supplying any one kind of mineral food. The safe way is to supply foods containing all, unless some particular condition makes the elimination or addition of specific elements necessary.