Preface
Mysterious Diseases Caused by Lack of Vitamins
Great Findings Arise from Raising Chickens
Vitamin C and B were Discovered
Vitamin B2--- the Second Water Soluble B Nutrient
Corn Pellagra and Niacin a Member of Vitamin B Complex
Search for Treatment of Pernicious Anemia
Sunshine Vitamin D and Rickets
Night Blindness and Vitamin A
Bringing Forth Offspring Vitamin E
Blood Clotting and Vitamin K
Take Care of Your Vitamin Intake
People who lived among lower income families, especially the children, easily suffered from a strange disease called night blindness. At night, patients completely lost their vision, and they had to be guided by a cane and another person. But during the day, their vision was good except a dry and uncomfortable sensation (xerophthalmia). If left untreated, ulceration would occur in the cornea and loss of vision forever. Night blindness is also called bird eye. Because birds lack rod cells in the retina, it is necessary to see at dim light, so at night they become blind. In the early 1900’s, scientists recognized that a fat-soluble substance presented in animal fats and fish oils and named vitamin /a, the first vitamin found in history. Even one century later, unfortunately, vitamin A deficiency is still a major cause of blindness in the world. Both animal and plant foods have vitamin A activity. Currently, Americans get about half their vitamin A from animal sources and half from plants. Some patients wrongly thought that vitamin A was good for health and they used blending machine to concentrate bounds of carotids into a cup to drink it. A couple days later they found they suffered from “jaundice”. Skin and conjunctival membrane became a yellow color. So a new syndrome, used in clinic, Carotenemia, indicates extra carotene deposited in the tissues.