In the 16th century, scurvy was observed to be a dietary problem. This was forgotten and as recently as the 1900s, scurvy was thought to be an infectious disease.
Folk medicine knew how to cure scurvy. Indian tribes knew. Many captains knew. But the learned doctors kept shooting it down, over and over, while people died.
The British Royal Navy began to give out citrus in the late 18th century. But this article shows that it still hadn't sunk in by the time WWI rolled around. Same with blood letting. Doctors were still pushing it in the early 20th century... though it was shown to be harmful 75 years prior. Mindboggling. Hubris!
Reminds me of the Vitamin D epidemic we are facing today. There is enough observational and other evidence regarding its value but its significance continues to be under recognized and undermined.
I don't think anyone can point to the chemical structure of 'vitamins' and say with certainty that they all belong to some 'nutrient' class of substances.
Vitamins are merely a label we put on compounds which nature produces.
Drugs are what we call compounds humans produce.
There's no reason to assume that humans are better than eons of evolution.
Folk medicine knew how to cure scurvy. Indian tribes knew. Many captains knew. But the learned doctors kept shooting it down, over and over, while people died.
The British Royal Navy began to give out citrus in the late 18th century. But this article shows that it still hadn't sunk in by the time WWI rolled around. Same with blood letting. Doctors were still pushing it in the early 20th century... though it was shown to be harmful 75 years prior. Mindboggling. Hubris!
Love your articles even tho I am not a medical worker. So informative and educational!
Reminds me of the Vitamin D epidemic we are facing today. There is enough observational and other evidence regarding its value but its significance continues to be under recognized and undermined.
I agree.
I don't think anyone can point to the chemical structure of 'vitamins' and say with certainty that they all belong to some 'nutrient' class of substances.
Vitamins are merely a label we put on compounds which nature produces.
Drugs are what we call compounds humans produce.
There's no reason to assume that humans are better than eons of evolution.
Will have to check this out, thank you for sharing.