Read Bereberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure

Bereberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure

Kenneth J. Carpenter

4.9/5 (34337 ratings)

Description:In this comprehensive account of the history and treatment of beriberi, Kenneth Carpenter traces the decades of medical and chemical research that solved the puzzle posed by this mysterious disease. Caused by the lack of a minute quantity of the chemical thiamin, or vitamin B1 in the diet, beriberi is characterized by weakness and loss of feeling in the feet and legs, then swelling from fluid retention, and finally heart failure. Western doctors working in Asia after 1870 saw it as the major disease in native armed forces and prisons. It was at first attributed to miasms (poisonous vapors from damp soil) or to bacterial infections. In Java, chickens fed by chance on white rice lost the use of their legs. On brown rice, where the grain still contained its bran and germ, they remained healthy. Studies in Javanese prisons then showed beriberi also occurring where white (rather than brown) rice was the staple food. Birds were used to assay the potency of fractions extracted from rice bran and, after 20 years, highly active crystals were obtained. In another 10 years their structure was determined and "thiamin" was synthesized. Beriberi is a story of contested knowledge and erratic scientific pathways. It offers a fascinating chronicle of the development of scientific thought, a history that encompasses public health, science, diet, trade, expanding empires, war, and technology.From the preface:This is a medical detective story: beginning with the investigation of a disease that has killed or crippled at least a million people, and then following up clues that ranged much wider. One outcome was the production of a synthetic chemical that we now, nearly all of us, consume in small quantities each day in our food. The detectives had a variety of professions and spoke different languages. Their work ranged from studying the health of laborers in a primitive jungle to the painstaking dissection of individual grains of rice under a microscope. The integrated story of their struggles and successes, culled from old volumes in scattered libraries, forms the subject of this book.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Bereberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure. To get started finding Bereberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: —

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: —

Release: —

ISBN: 0520220544

Description: In this comprehensive account of the history and treatment of beriberi, Kenneth Carpenter traces the decades of medical and chemical research that solved the puzzle posed by this mysterious disease. Caused by the lack of a minute quantity of the chemical thiamin, or vitamin B1 in the diet, beriberi is characterized by weakness and loss of feeling in the feet and legs, then swelling from fluid retention, and finally heart failure. Western doctors working in Asia after 1870 saw it as the major disease in native armed forces and prisons. It was at first attributed to miasms (poisonous vapors from damp soil) or to bacterial infections. In Java, chickens fed by chance on white rice lost the use of their legs. On brown rice, where the grain still contained its bran and germ, they remained healthy. Studies in Javanese prisons then showed beriberi also occurring where white (rather than brown) rice was the staple food. Birds were used to assay the potency of fractions extracted from rice bran and, after 20 years, highly active crystals were obtained. In another 10 years their structure was determined and "thiamin" was synthesized. Beriberi is a story of contested knowledge and erratic scientific pathways. It offers a fascinating chronicle of the development of scientific thought, a history that encompasses public health, science, diet, trade, expanding empires, war, and technology.From the preface:This is a medical detective story: beginning with the investigation of a disease that has killed or crippled at least a million people, and then following up clues that ranged much wider. One outcome was the production of a synthetic chemical that we now, nearly all of us, consume in small quantities each day in our food. The detectives had a variety of professions and spoke different languages. Their work ranged from studying the health of laborers in a primitive jungle to the painstaking dissection of individual grains of rice under a microscope. The integrated story of their struggles and successes, culled from old volumes in scattered libraries, forms the subject of this book.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Bereberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure. To get started finding Bereberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Special Offer | $0.00

Special Offer! | $0.00

Bereberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure

Bereberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure

More Books

The History of Scurvy and Vitamin C

The History of Scurvy and Vitamin C

Beriberi, White Rice and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure by Kenneth J. Carpenter (2000) Hardcover

Beriberi, White Rice and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure by Kenneth J. Carpenter (2000) Hardcover

Protein and Energy: A Study of Changing Ideas in Nutrition

Protein and Energy: A Study of Changing Ideas in Nutrition

Pellagra (Benchmark papers in biochemistry)

Pellagra (Benchmark papers in biochemistry)

The Last Voyage of Sir Francis Drake

The Last Voyage of Sir Francis Drake

The Complete Dinosaur

The Complete Dinosaur

Dinosaur Systematics: Approaches and Perspectives

Dinosaur Systematics: Approaches and Perspectives

Thunder-Lizards: The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs (Life of the Past)

Thunder-Lizards: The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs (Life of the Past)