I found an interesting paper that would tend to make a person appreciate the blessings that they have today.  One of the authors of the paper (Samuel Goldblith) was captured by the Japanese, and then eventually transferred to a POW camp in Japan.  While there, he kept a log of the food amounts and nutritional value therein, and managed to bring the data home with him after he was released.



"The data used in this Investigation were collected by one of us during the period from December 1942-June 1945. It involves as subjects: Officer Prisoners-of-War of American, English, Dutch and Australian nationalities.

The prison camp was located at Zentsuji on the Island of Shikoku, Japan. The climate at this camp is approximately the same as at Washington D. C.  At no time during the period covered in this report was any auxiliary heat provided by Japanese.

The camp was located at the site of the German concentration camp of the First World War, in the midst of an Army cantonment. There were two large barracks in the camp, two outside-covered latrines, a cook house, a rabbitry, a chicken house, a small hall and a small playground. These buildings were surrounded by a fence patrolled by regular Army Japanese guards.

Each of the barracks was subdivided into large rooms with raised platforms on each side on which were laid thin straw mats on which the POWs slept.  Each officer POW had an allowance of sleeping space 25-30 inches wide.  The latrines were outdoors, buildings set up over large holes into which the excreta fell and which were emptied more or less regularly by the neighboring Japanese farmer, who used the excreta as fertilizer.  The washstands were outdoors also and were not enclosed, and this often necessitated the breaking of the ice in the winter in order to wash.  As a result, chilblains were quite common.

In the cookhouse all cooking was done primitively in large cast-iron pots over a coal fire.  Here the food (rice and soup) was weighed out in buckets proportionately and carried to each room."



The description of the camp and life there continues and is worthwhile reading in its own right.  However, in the interest of keeping this post at a reasonable reading length, I will go now to the summary and conclusions part of the report.



"An analysis of total food intake of Officer Prisoners of War at Zentsuji, Japan have been made.  These calculations are based upon the composition of the raw foods.  The actual intake of the various nutrients was undoubtedly less than these calculations indicate, because vitamins are destroyed during cooking and vitamins and minerals are extracted into the cooking water and discarded.  The data presented here therefore reflect a conditions which is quite optimistic.

The diet consisted almost entirely of vegetable foods with rice, barley, and to a lesser extent, soybeans as the staple foods.

Due to the large amount of green vegetables in the diet, there was no lack of vitamin A, ascorbic acid, or iron.  There were clinical evidences of hypoproteinemia which may be ascribed to the fact that there was very little animal protein in the dietary.

The monthly average weights of the officers correlate quite well with the calories received. The National Research Council's recommended daily allowances for a moderately active, 70 kilogram man are 3000 calories/day.  It was observed that body weight was maintained when the calorie intake was approximately 3000 calories.

Fat intake was below a desirable level.  It is suspected that the dry scaly skin observed in all of the prisoners is a manifestation of a deficient intake of essential fatty acids.

The calcium intake was sufficient for only 7 months of the 31 months studied.

There was sufficient thiamine in the diet until the last 12 months of the period studied.  Suspected cases of beri-beri were observed during this period of low thiamine intake.

The riboflavin was not adequate during the entire period of the study.  The clinical manifestations of riboflavin deficiency were apparent.

Pellagra was observed intermittently during the 31 months of incarceration between December 1942 and June 1945.  Since the exact niacin intake is not known it is difficult to determine whether the development of pellagra in subjects on a diet which calculates to contain approximately 18 mgs is proof that the National Research Council's allowance of 15 mgs per day is inadequate."



Reference:

Final Report on an analysis of data on the nutrition of American officer Prisoners of War at the Zentsuji Prisoner of War Camp at Shikoku, Japan.  Samuel A. Goldblith and Robert S. Harris, Department of Food Technology, MIT.  May 1948.

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b950030.pdf



A website with more information on Zetsuji POW camp:







Of note, Dr. Goldblith kept food research going long after the war was over and was a very acconplished man.  From the wiki on him:


"A native of Lawrence, Massachusetts, Goldblith was the son of a Russian immigrant. He received his S.B. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1940. During his student days, he was also involved in Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and began serving with the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a Second Lieutenant in the Philippines.

While at the Philippines, Goldblith would be part of the US Army contingent involved in the Battle of the Philippines and captured by the Japanese following the Battle of Corregidor. Having been surrendered on Corregidor, Goldblith avoided the Bataan Death March and Camp O'Donnell, being sent instead to one of the Cabanatuan POW camps. In November 1942 he endured a trip aboard the "hell ship", Nagato Maru, to Japan.

Despite being a POW, Goldblith was able to conduct scientific research, even studying malnutrition and related diseases affecting those around him. His knowledge of botany and chemistry would save the lives of many of his fellow soldiers while a POW. These studies included beriberi, hypoproteinemia, and Vitamin A deficiencies. Goldblith was able to use iodine from his medical kit to dose the foul water in his canteen in an effort to prevent dysentery. His research would be published in the journal Science in September 1946 and in the Office of Naval Research Reports in 1947.

Goldblith would earn two Bronze Stars and one Silver Star for his service and be discharged as a Captain in 1946. In later years, Goldblith and his wife, the former Diana Greenberg, would remain in close contact with the Belgian Catholic nuns in the Philippines who were instrumental in saving the lives of so many lives with their food and medical supplies during the war.

Upon his discharge from the US Army, Goldblith would return to MIT where he would earn his S.M. in 1947 and his Ph.D. in 1949, both in food technology. He would join the food technology faculty at MIT in 1949, rising to the rank of professor in 1959. Goldblith would serve as acting department chair following Bernard E. Proctor's death in 1959 and remained in that position until Nevin Scrimshaw took over as department chair in 1961. Goldblith would remain as professor until 1974 when he became MIT's director of the Industrial Liaison Program (ILP), a position he would hold until 1978. After that, Goldblith would be promoted to MIT's vice president of resource development until 1986, then promoted again to Senior advisor to the President of MIT, where he would retire in 1992

During his service at MIT, Goldblith led the development of food irradiation, of freeze-drying and microwave technology, all of which would prove important for the Space Race. This included Project Mercury, Project Gemini, and Project Apollo, but would later stretch to Skylab, the Space Shuttle, and even to the International Space Station."


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Abraham_Goldblith

He lead quite a life. Pretty impressive that he was able to focus, do research, and use his knowledge to save lives while he was a POW himself.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for posting this.  My Grandfather's younger brother died in one of these camps in the Phillipine Islands, of beriberi and dysentery.

Dr. Goldblith addressed the Philippine POW camps as well in his paper.  It is a wonder that anyone was able to make it through at all. especially considering that the Americans were suffering from hunger and malnutrition long before the Bataan Death March.  General MacArthur certainly had a lot to answer for in his logistical failures in the Philippines.

Another brief excerpt from the report, pp.21-22:

"The troops on Bataan went on quarter-rations early in January 1942.  Beri-beri was observed by March 1942 and increased to a marked degree by September 1942, many men dying from a "beri-beri heart".  Pellagra became marked toward the end of September 1942, although a few cases were reported before then.  Scurvy, until October 1942, was questionable.  Ariboflavinosis, as demonstrated by chailoses, began to be observed in September 1942.  By the end of October 1942, the majority of the prisoners of war were suffering from malnutrition in some form or other."