Metallic Milk

Surprising to scientists as to milk-bibbers is this large list of metals present in milk:

Chem. Atom. Chem, Atom.

Symbol Wt. Symbol Wt.

Strontium Sr 87.63 Calcium Ca 40.07 Vanadium Va 51.0 Magnesium Mg 24.32 Rubidium Rb 85.45 Potassium K 39.10 Zinc Zn 65.37 Sodium Na 23.0

Copper Cu 63.57 Iron Fe 55.84

Titanium Ti 48.1 Aluminium Al 27.1 Lithium Li 6.94 Manganese Mn 54.93

Also chlorine, iodine, boron and phosphorus.

The presence of some of those minerals in milk has long been known. But that strontium, which makes fireworks burn red, that boron, which volcanoes heave forth, that titanium, which makes war smoke screens, that vanadium, which hardens steel -that such metals of horrendous connotation were also in solution was a revelation made to U.S. householders only last week, from Cornell University. Drs. Jacob Papish and Norman C. Wright made the discoveries there with a spectroscope. The metallic contents are "small but definite."

Now nutritionists must decide what effect those elements have on diet. It may be that a baby regurgitates because its milk contains too much zinc. It may be that colic comes sometimes from too much lithium.