We are the publishers of the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements series of books. We summarize the latest scientific research and compare products to give consumers a chance to choose the best broad-spectrum multiple vitamin and mineral supplement for their needs.
Perhaps the only advantage of getting old is being able to look back and see what worked and what didn't. Knowledge of severe vitamin deficiency diseases is an example of learning the hard way. The association of vitamin B1 (thiamine) with beriberi was perhaps the first example of the consequences of refining a food. Milling away the unattractive outer husk of the rice that contained the thiamine caused the disease. No drug could substitute for that missing, essential, "vital amine." That's how "vitamins" first got their name.
