The philosophy of eating. By Albert J. Bellows, M.D.

WASTE OF PHOSPHORUS BY MENTAL EFFORT. 87

Composition of Brain and Nervous Substance.
In Infants. Youths. Adults. Aged. Idiots.
Albumen, 7.00 10.20 9.40 8.65 8.40
Cerebral fat, 8.45 5.30 6.10 4.32 5.00
Phosphorus, 0:80 1.65 1.80 1.00 0.85
Osmazome
and salts, 5.96 8.59 10.19 12.18 14.82
WVater, 82.79 74.26 72.51 73.85 70.93
100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
By this table it is seen that the brain of infants and
idiots contains less than half the average of that element
in adults.
Another fact, established also by chemical analysis,
which, with that above mentioned, proves to a demonstration that the action of the mind is dependent on
phosphorus, and is subject to the same law of waste
and supply as other faculties, is the following: Immediately after active mental labor the excretions exhibit
a larger proportion of phosphates than at any other
time, e. g., on Mondays and Tuesdays in clergymen,
and at court times in lawyers. Experiments of this
kind have gone to show that the amount of phosphates
used up and excreted is in exact proportion to the
intensity and continuance of the mental effort; and, at
these times, observing clergymen and lawyers have
told me their appetite calls for phosphatic food, as fish,
cheese, unbolted wheat bread, oat meal, and barley