What is the history of nutrition?
The study of human nutrition dates back to the 18th century, when the French chemist Lavoisier discovered that there was a relationship between our metabolism of food and the process of breathing. By the early 20th century, scientists had found that diseases were associated with certain diets (beri-beri, rickets, scurvy and pellagra). Later it was found that these diets lacked specific nutrients (namely vitamin B1 [thiamine], vitamin D, vitamin C, and vitamin B3 [niacin] respectively). By 1912, the Polish chemist Casimir Funk had found a substance (vitamin B1) that actually prevented beri-beri, and he named it “vitamine.” In the early 1940s, Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) were established by the National Research Council. The RDAs define the minimal nutrient intakes necessary for the prevention of basic deficiency diseases like beri-beri and rickets. Until recently, these guidelines were used to set nutritional adequacy standards for the general population. Researchers and scien
