Tag: Beri beri

In 1897, Dutch physician Christiaan Eijkman conducted landmark research in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) that uncovered a substance preventing the debilitating disease beriberi. His work, involving chickens fed different types of rice, directly led to the conceptual discovery of **vitamin B1**, or thiamine. This marked a pivotal moment in nutritional science, proving diseases could be caused by dietary deficiencies rather than infections.

In 1912, Polish biochemist Casimir Funk coined the term "vitamine," but the discovery of the vitamin theory was not a singular event and involved the work of multiple researchers over several decades. The foundational concept emerged from the recognition that certain diseases, like beriberi and scurvy, resulted from the absence of essential, yet-to-be-identified, factors in the diet.

Beriberi, a disease caused by severe thiamine deficiency, was described in ancient Chinese texts from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC. This potentially life-threatening condition directly impacts the body's energy metabolism, leading to a cascade of debilitating effects on the cardiovascular and nervous systems that manifest as different types of illness.

While severe vitamin C deficiency (scurvy) is uncommon in industrialized countries, the confusion surrounding different vitamin deficiencies persists. This article clarifies the common misconception and answers the question: **does vitamin C deficiency cause beri-beri**? The simple and factual answer is no; they are two distinct conditions caused by different nutritional shortfalls.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly half of all deaths among children under five are linked to undernutrition. This highlights the severe and widespread issue of diseases related to nutritional deficiency, a preventable cause of illness and mortality worldwide.