Vitamin Discoveries and Disasters: History, Science, and Controversies

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A new work on the history of vitamins and the brilliant men and women who discovered the existence and nature of these small molecules so vital to our health. Vitamin Discoveries and Disasters: History, Science, and Controversies describes the emergence of nutritional science and its contributions to our understanding of how the body functions. It is an absorbing look at the men and women, many little known in their lifetimes, whose medical detective work helped us conquer a number of devastating health conditions, including some forms of mental illness. Each chapter of Vitamin Discoveries and Disasters focuses on a specific vitamin, describing the researchers, the research, and the historic and scientific contexts for its discovery. Together, these chapters chart the ongoing conflict between physicians who saw illness as caused by organisms and those who saw illness as a result of dietary deficiency. A concluding chapter shows how our stronger grasp of the effects of vitamin deficiencies on large populations can be used to the utmost benefit of society.

Reviews

Each chapter focuses on a specific vitamin, describing the researchers, the research, and the historic and scientific contexts for its discovery, and chronicling the ongoing conflict between physicians who saw illness as caused by organisms and those who saw illness as a result of dietary deficiency. The book is illustrated with B&W historical photos and art. For those interested in components of nutrition as well as the history of the field, appendices describe some features of the vitamins in more detail. Simple glossary definitions are provided for many scientific and medical terms. * SciTech Book News *
This well-researched, well-written, and highly informative volume is an excellent reference for both health professionals and the general public. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. * Choice *
entertaining, easy to read, and written at a level understandable by the educated layperson.most individuals interested in the early history of vitamin nutrition will find the book to be interesting, informative, and educational. * JAMA *

Author Bio

Frances Rachel Frankenburg , MD, is associate professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, lecturer in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and adjunct clinical professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.