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Show 157 Dr. Comas studies the problem of Indian diet from a hemispheric viewpoint basing his ideas on Recommendations X and XXVII of the First Inter-American Conference on Indian Life (Patzcuaro,1940), as well as on paragraph 3, Article IV of the Convention governing the Inter-American Indian Institute. He gives definite examples showing the deficiencies in the diet of Indians, due to causes as widely different as: 1) foods consumed in excessive quantities; 2) those inadequately consumed; 3) those not consumed at all; 4) those that must be prepared in a different way to improve their nutritive value. Dr. Comas describes the importance of elements that the Food Committee of the League of Nations terms "protective foods" which unquestionably should be a part of the Indian's customary diet. Then, he clearly sets forth the respective tasks of dieticians and anthropologists in connection with this problem and suggests that a thorough, systematic investigation on an inter-American scale be made on general lines, flexible enough to be adapted to the requirements and possibilities of the different national and regional zones where they must be applied. The studies, based on detailed questionnaires, should yield information on the customary diet of the several Indian groups (i.e. quantity, quality and preparation of food); existing and possible crops, wild plants, fishing, hunting, domestic animals, etc., which could be increased and utilized in the diet; favorable or harmful effects that the customary diet exerts on the Indian; practical changes in the regular diet of each zone to bring about the desired improvements to be determined with the use of data on alimentation provided by physiologists, etc. Finally, Dr. Comas insists that this problem is vitally important to all the American Republics, even in those where the Indian population is non-existent or almost negligible. Increasing the living standards of these 30,000,000 Indians will represent a tremendous addition to the man-power and production capacity of the continent; by thus expanding greatly their consumption possibilities, new markets would be opened and a distribution of agricultural livestock products, whose storage and market limitations are creating a critical situation in some South American countries, would be possible. Quintana, Epaminondas. "El Problema Dietetico Del Caribe," America Indigena, II No. 11 (April, 1942), Mexico, D.F., pp. 25-28. English Summary: The nutrition problem of the Caribbean is discussed in this article. Dr. Quintana finds that of the five essential elements of human food, at least four are lacking in the people's diet: proteins, liquids, mineral salts and vitamins. Only carbohydrates are found in sufficient quantity in the daily |