A History Lesson on Vitamins

Ever wonder how we even know the things that we do about food? In our modern day, we know what nutrients are in certain foods, how they help our bodies, and even what supplements to take. Well, Rome certainly wasn’t built in a day when it comes to nutritional discoveries throughout the centuries. In fact, many corrections have been made to original claims about food and nutrients. Vitamins make up one of the nutrient categories that has been refined many times over, in terms of the information we gathered about them. So... when were vitamins even discovered? I am glad you asked! 

At the start of the 1900s, only the macronutrients were understood: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. People did not know that, just as you need to eat enough foods from those three categories, you also need to get enough micronutrients (or vitamins and minerals). In 1905, Dr. William Fletcher from England realized that eating polished (refined) rice caused Beriberi disease, but eating unrefined rice did not induce any health problems. He made the connection that the husks and centers of rice grains must contain essential nutrients, and thus, removing them produced rice that lacked proper nutritional value. 

Vitamins were officially labeled in 1912 by Polish scientist Casimir Funk. He initially called them “vitamines,” meaning “vital amines.” He believed that these substances sustained life and belonged to the chemical class of amines. When researchers later recognized that vitamins were not amines, the “e” was removed and the term “vitamin” remained. Funk suggested that, if we don’t strip foods of certain components, the nutrients within them could prevent diseases. 

The different names of vitamins all have their own story as well. Vitamin K, for example, got its label from the German term “koagulation,” since vitamin K helps with blood clotting. Biotin (vitamin B7) was originally called “vitamin H,” and riboflavin (B2) was “vitamin G.” Essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 were also considered vitamins and called “vitamin F,” yet were macronutrients! Thankfully we have had numerous scientists carefully and critically study vitamins for decades on decades now, and we know so much more than we did one hundred years ago. We now know that fruits, vegetables, and unrefined food products (i.e. whole grains) contain the highest densities of nutrients. Be sure to maximize on these foods to get all of your “vital” nutrients!! 

-OB

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https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/vitamins-and-minerals-nutrition-vector-set-gm1326822016-41138766