BETTER FOOD FOR BETTER SOLDIERS

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Combat soldiers might improve their mental
and physical sharpness by eating rations supplemented with
caffeine, glucose and certain other nutrients -- items that one
day might help civilian diets too -- scientists reported
Wednesday.  

   The Institute of Medicine studied a variety of food compounds
at the request of the Army, which wanted to know if certain
supplements could improve soldiers' performance.  

   Supplements won't make the average healthy soldier better
under ordinary circumstances, the institute responded. But in a
report released Wednesday, it uncovered four food components that
might help a soldier suffering the stresses of combat or harsh
environments.  

   "If you take soldiers that are stressed by lack of sleep,
operations, cold, aren't eating adequately, then there may be
something done to restore their performance to what a normal,
rested, well-fed soldier would be," said Robert Nesheim, a
California nutritionist who chaired the institute panel.  

   Those findings may one day apply to stressful civilian jobs as
well, he said. "But more research is needed.  

   The institute studied six food components to see whether using
them to supplement an ordinary diet would affect mental and
physical performance -- and be safe.  

   Among its recommendations:  

   --The military should find better ways to add caffeine to
rations so fatigued soldiers can get a quick mental boost. 

     Freeze-dried coffee is already in rations but most soldiers
today don't drink coffee and wouldn't have time to brew a cup if
they needed quick caffeine, the panel said.  

   --Carbohydrates, a good source of energy, already make up 45
percent of Army rations but supplements to give a quick extra 100
or 200 grams during stressful periods should be developed. 

     Glucose, a sugar, is especially promising because it may
improve mental function during cold stress and sleep deprivation,
but should be combined with protein so the "sugar high" isn't
fleeting.  

   --Choline, found in meat and even ice cream, sends vital
neural signals to tissues. It's widely available in ordinary
diet, but one study found marathoners improved their time on a
20-mile run by five minutes if they took choline supplements. 

The panel recommended the Army intensely study choline to see if
soldiers get that benefit and to ensure the compound is safe in
supplement form. 

   --Tyrosine, an amino acid that transmits brain signals, may
improve vigilance and lessen anxiety during the stresses of
extreme cold and oxygen deprivation from high altitudes. The
panel urged the Army to determine effective doses.  

   But the panel concluded there's not enough evidence that
supplements of carnitine -- a meat and dairy nutrient that stores
high-energy compounds -- or structured lipids -- special fatty
acid chains that may stabilize glucose levels -- actually work.
 
   The Army, apprised of the findings several months ago, has
largely abandoned carnitine research. It is starting choline
studies this summer, has stepped up work on tyrosine and is
developing a special chocolate bar to give soldiers caffeine,
said Col. Wayne Askew, chief of the $700,000 nutrition program at
the Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.  

   "We don't have a lot of funding, which is why we wanted the
institute to narrow this down to the few nutrients that had the
best promise," Askew said.  

   But the institute stressed that no one -- soldiers or
civilians -- should supplement their diets with such food
chemicals on their own.  

   "If you start taking some of these individually and at 
pharmaceutical levels ... you don't know what the effects might
be," Nesheim warned. "One needs to be cautious to make sure
you're not throwing that system out of balance."