RT Journal A1 HESS AF, UNGER LJ T1 THe deleterious effect of the alkalization of infants' food JF Journal of the American Medical Association JO Journal of the American Medical Association YR 1919 FD November 1 VO 73 IS 18 SP 1353 OP 1356 DO 10.1001/jama.1919.02610440033012 UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1919.02610440033012 AB At the present time little regard is paid to the reaction of the milk preparations that are fed to babies. It is considered quite immaterial, for example, whether sodium bicarbonate is added to a milk formula, or whether a proprietary food is more or less alkaline in reaction. To such an extent is this the case that in stating the composition of proprietary foods, the textbooks on children's diseases content themselves with a statement of the protein, fat and carbohydrate content of the various popular preparations, giving no consideration whatsoever to their reaction. In such tables the salts are expressed in terms of percentages of total ash, the nature of the inorganic constituents being not specifically mentioned. This is true of American, English, French and German textbooks. This neglect is all the more remarkable as for some years it has been appreciated that the salts play an important rĂ´le in