Self Selection of Diet

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Abstract
When rats were offered their choice of sucrose, hydrogenated fat, salt mixture, and a protein, approximately the same proportion of animals refused to eat the protein if it was casein, lactalbumen, or fibrin. If it was egg albumen, many more refused. If these four proteins were offered simultaneously as choices, only two out of twenty-two animals refused to eat at least one of them. If the choices were offered as part of mixed diets, the animals avoided the diet containing egg albumen, but showed no other marked preferences. It was concluded that the appetites for different proteins were largely independent and that no “appetite for protein” in the general sense was indicated. The appetite for various proteins, found in some animals, is apparently based on simple preference, although it may possibly be a learned appetite.

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