The patients rapidly recovered on a diet
consisting of fresh vegetable soup, potato-skin liquor, wheat bran,
whole-wheat bread, egg yolks, whole milk, orange juice, and apples. No
drugs were administered.
It may be added that Dr. Alfred Berg (in the same magazine, September,
1919) recounts the cure of an absolutely hopeless case of stomach trouble
by the vegetable juice prepared according to McCann's formula. He has
found the results gained by the use of this soup in diet "so remarkable as
to be almost unbelievable."
The formula in question, as taken from McCann's article, is: "Boil
cabbage, carrots, parsnips, spinich, onions, turnips together for two
hours. Drain off liquor. Discard residue. Feed liquor as soup in generous
quantities with unbuttered whole-wheat bread."]
As a precautionary measure during my further travels in Borneo I adopted
the green peas of the Orient in my daily diet, and when properly cooked
they suit my taste very well. Every day my native cook made a pot of
katjang idju, to which I added as a flavour Liebig's extract, and when
procurable different kinds of fresh vegetables such as the natives use.
Almost any kind of preserved vegetables or meat, especially sausages, is
compatible with this stew, which is capable of infinite variations. For a
year and a half I used it every day, usually twice a day, without becoming
tired of it, and this regimen undoubtedly was the reason why the symptoms
of acidosis never reappeared.
I may add that besides this dish my main food was milk and biscuits,
especially those made of whole wheat. In the tropics no milk will keep
beyond a certain time limit unless it is sweetened, which renders it less
wholesome. I found Nestle & Company's evaporated milk serviceable, but
their sterilised natural milk is really excellent, though it is expensive
on an expedition which at times has to depend on carriers, and in
mountainous regions like New Guinea it would be impracticable to carry it.
Under these conditions one is content to have the evaporated or the
sweetened brand. Sterilised milk, although perhaps a luxury, is a
permissible one when travelling by boat, but the fact that it remains
sound only a limited time should be borne in mind. However, it helped me
to resist the adverse conditions of travel in the equatorial regions, and
to return to civilisation in prime physical condition. When I had
opportunity I ate the rice of the Dayaks, which is not so well sifted of
its husks, and is by far more palatable than the ordinary polished rice. I
found the best biscuits to be Huntley and Palmer's College Brown,
unsweetened.
As regards one's native companions, the Dayaks or Malays are quite
satisfied as long as they get their full rations of rice and dried fish.
This is the food they have always been accustomed to and their demands do
not go further, although cocoanut-oil for frying the fish adds to their
contentment.
