Grijns Proposes That Beriberi Is Caused by a Nutritional Deficiency
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History II: Science and Technology Series
- Categories: Science, Medicine, Health
- Subcategories: Biology, Biologists, Doctors, Physicians, Nurses, Epidemics, Diseases
- Curriculum: 20th & 21st Century European History, German History, Asian History
- Geographical Location: Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia, Java
- Date: 1901
Article abstract: Grijns’ proposal that beriberi was caused by a nutritional deficiency in a diet of polished rice led to the concept of vitamins.
Summary of Event
Beriberi is a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin B1, thiamine, in the diet. The name of the disease is Sinhalese for “I cannot.” It resulted from the fact that people afflicted with severe beriberi are too sick to do even the simplest things. The disease was endemic to the Far East in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its symptoms include stiffness of the lower limbs,...
[The entire page is 2082 words long]
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