Electricity as Nourishment.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 2 October 1914, Page 7

Electricity as Nourishment.

. 4 A French scientist has brought out the fact that the electric current can serve to some extent in the place of nourishment for the human bocty, or, in more accurate language the electric currents . act to restore energy to the human body in a manner which is analogous to the effect of food. When high-frequency currents first began to be used, as Professor Bergonie says, it was shown by D'Arsonval that these could set up very striking heat effects in the organism, so that the human body is internally heated. Owing to their harmless action, no other effect than development of heat is produced. The liver, heart, or brain can receive the high-frequency currents without any bad effect upon their working. Thus the current can supply as large an amount of energy as is desired to the human body, provided the heat is not brought too high so as to cause death of the protoplasm, as occurs in Dr. Doyen's electro-coagulation method. But it is not hard to keep within the proper limits, and no danger need occur. With some organisms, which are weakened on account of their being deprived of nourishment for any cause, the general temperature may become lowered even by two degrees. A person can thus lose a quantity of heat which is represented by one-twelfth of the daily ration of that organism. It is, therefore, a wonderful result to make up for this deficit without calling upon the digestive organs, and without increasing one's daily ration, also without introducing any drugs into the blood or tissues. Electricity allows of sending a quantity of energy which may be considerable into the living organism under the form of highfrequency and low-tension currents, and this action can be repeated as often as is needed. He finds that, in experiments made at Bordeaux College, overworked or enfeebled persons, anaemics, and the like, showed that the currents cauzed a toning up of the system and abolished stomach overwork. Fcsrce reappeared, and he found a considerable gain in weight. Commenting on this, he remarks that We once thought that chemistry would solve the problem of food, and that we could be nourished by chemical products. . But this does not appear to be realised, even in this age of progress. Perhaps electricity will ■now be able to come in where chemistry failed, and in the future ages we will be electrically fed.