‘The Father of the Vitamin’
Vitamins and minerals are micronutrients that are required by the body to maintain normal functions. The knowledge that consumption of certain foods to maintain health or cure diseases was known long before vitamins were discovered.
Ancient Egyptians learned that eating living would combat night blindness (called Nyctalopia, a vitamin A deficiency). Nineteenth-century sailors experienced outbreaks of scurvy during their long voyages. Caused by a lack of vitamin C, symptoms of scurvy include poor wound healing, bleeding gums, severe pain, and, in extreme cases, death.
In 1747, Scottish surgeon James Lind discovered that the consumption of citrus fruits prevented scurvy. Adopted by the Royal Navy in 1753, limes and lemons were included in the sailor’s diet, earning them the nickname ‘Limeys.’
But not everyone was convinced. At the dawn of the twentieth century, some scientists still believed that food consisted of only three nutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Poor sanitation and hygiene, it was thought, were to blame for most (if not all) of the known diseases.
However, there was enough evidence in history to support the theory of an unknown necessary ingredient in foods that maintained health. In the early decades of the 1900s, scientists began research to solve the mystery of the unknown nutrient essential to…
