Have you ever wondered what was in that multivitamin bottle you keep in your cabinet? not production or science, but history? This is the plot.
Many people are shocked to learn that the invention of vitamins, the most fundamental supplement that the majority of us take for granted, dates back more than a century. The majority of us believe that nutrient depletion in our food is a recent issue, yet this is just untrue. In fact, efforts to address that issue in the early 1900s resulted in the creation of the modern multivitamin. But first, scientists had to find the presence of the chemicals that are now known as vitamins.
More than 90% of Americans lack at least one vital vitamin or mineral, according to The Journal of Family Practice.
Protein, carbs, and fat were the only three acknowledged essential nutrients in meals at the start of the 20th century. Food was sterilized in order to remove bacteria, mildew, and poisons because it was believed that poor sanitation and hygiene were the cause of all diseases. To remove husks, additional grains were processed as well as rice. However, despite increasing shelf life, there were certain negative effects that weren’t known at the time.
Grain processing destroyed essential B vitamins and increased the prevalence of two of the era’s prevalent diseases: pellagra, a niacin deficiency characterized by sores and hallucinations, and beriberi, a vitamin B1 or thiamine deficiency characterized by nerve damage and the potential for paralysis. Children from wealthy homes were more likely to develop scurvy, symptoms like exhaustion and bleeding gums because heat sterilizing milk removed vitamin C. These tendencies were a mystery because they believed that they were the ones who had access to the “greatest” food.
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