It was this strange disease, beriberi that led to the discovery of vitamins. A certain Dutch scientist, while out in Indonesia, noted that beriberi was more prevalent were crowded together. Other doctors thought it was some type of infection, but this man decided to find out for himself. He suspected there might be some deficiency in the diet of the poorer people.

So he took the polished rice used by the majority of the people and fed it to experimental animals. Within a short time all the animals developed similar conditions to that seen among the human population. Then to make doubly sure, he took some of the rice husks, or polishing, and added these to the diet of the experimental animals. The entire animal quickly recovered. There was evidently something in the outer covering of the rice grains that prevented beriberi.

Doctors all over the world were intensely interested when these remarkable findings were published. A whole new concept in the treatment of disease was opened. Someone coined the world “vitamin”, and doctors soon began to discover other vitamins and their functions in the body. There has developed a clearer understanding about that degenerative disease, such as hardening of the arteries, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and many other maladies, all of which have much to do with the problems of nutrition.

Now, if we were all perfectly healthy and continued to eat the right foods, we would probably remain strong and vigorous all our days. But most of us are not this fortunate. We all the elements so necessary for good health, and these include minerals and vitamins.

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