The treatment of diabetes mellitus is a problem in quantitative chemistry.
In functioning the organism exacts a certain output of energy from the metabolism of foodstuffs. This caloric requirement is equal to the basal metabolism, plus a percentage increment for the specific dynamic action of food, and a percentage increment for activity over and above basal. In order to meet this requirement the several foodstuffs must be metabolized in such amounts as correspond to the dietary equation
C=4.1 CH+4.1 P+9.3 F (1)
in which C represents calories per day, CH, P and F, grams of carbohydrate, protein, and fat respectively,