Kirkus Reviews QR Code
THE VITAMIN HUNTERS by Albert Von Haller

THE VITAMIN HUNTERS

By

Pub Date: July 18th, 1962
Publisher: Chilton

Although the rhetoric of German-educated Albert Von Haller borrows more from Goethe than FDA, his book is a sturdy and generally satisfactory study of nutrition, the past plagues, current fads and the scientists who staked out causes and cure-alls of deficiency diseases. There was beriberi's attack on the Japanese navy; Eijkman's East Indies investigation; Holst and Frohlich who produced scurvy in guinea pigs; pellagra and the lack of niacin; rickets and the loss of vitamin D; experiments with rats and the resultant vitamin B-6; etc., etc. There are lab reports from the U.S., Europe and South America, mixed with historical scuttlebutt, environmental factors (Goldberger's work with the poor in the Deep South), geographical groupings (perfect health among the Eskimo, Indian and Peruvian tribes which degenerated after the introduction of ""civilized"" foodstuff), the dedicated pursuits of Lane, Hopkins, Abderhalden, the modern day refining and processing revolution. Want to keep the ""characteristics of youth""? Eat fruit- you can't get enough. Want to economize and he healthier for it? Have meat once a week; vegetarians live longer. A profitable book for both the layman and the lab man.