Lysine Supplementation of a Rice and Milk Diet Fed to Children Recovering from Kwashiorkor and Undernutrition

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Abstract
Changes in body weight, thickness of subcutaneous tissue and in the concentration of proteins of the plasma have been investigated in five children recovering from kwashiorkor and in four from general undernutrition, prior to and during lysine supplementation of a milk plus rice and bread diet. No difference in the rate of growth or in the improvement of plasma proteins was found between the two groups, or in the same group when results of the two experimental periods were compared. Nor was a difference noticed between these two groups and a third group of four undernourished children fed the same diet unsupplemented with lysine. The intake of nutrients per day per kilogram body weight from the diet was as follows: calories 46 to 85, proteins 1.9 to 3.4 gm., lysine 115 to 200 mg. and threonine 77 to 142 mg. The problem of improving the quality of rice diets fed to Ceylonese children is briefly discussed.