[Body reaction at different periods to the action of a low-protein diet]

It has been shown in experiments on rats fed the diet with 7% protein that the body response pattern to the low protein content in food changes with time. During the first period, initial, rapidly occurring changes are passive in nature. The second period is marked by the development of an adaptive phase that is responsible for the maintenance of an adequate body homeostasis. During the third period that sets in if the duration of protein deficiency goes beyond the permissible limit, the body response is marked by the development of the deadaptation phase. It is assumed that the same changes are observed in children suffering from protein-caloric deficiency and that this fact should be taken into consideration in the management of the illness in question.