DID YOU KNOW ? # 8

Did you know Beriberi is a tragic disease that causes dramatic weight loss and even death. For centuries it destroyed lives around the world. It is caused by a lack of thiamine in the victim’s diet. A good source of thiamine is the hull of rice kernels; unfortunately most countries remove the hulls before cooking. As most Asians eat 300 pounds of polished rice annually, untold millions of them suffered and died from this horrible disease.

Now the rest of the story.

In 1947 the Philippine Health authorities started the “Baatan Experiment”. The people were given a dietary supplement of thiamine, iron and niacin. The incidence of beriberi was reduced by 90% in the test areas. The Philippine Health authorities developed a pathology that literally save millions of lives around the world.