• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Your Body / When Were Vitamins Discovered?

When Were Vitamins Discovered?

May 28, 2020 by Karen Hill

During the 19th century, an English doctor found that eating lemons or limes could prevent a disease known as scurvy, which had been common among sailors and soldiers for thousands of years.

Beginning in 1800, all English Navy ships carried lime juice, and every sailor had to drink a ration of lime juice daily. That, by the way, is why English sailors became known as “limeys.”

Lime juice prevents scurvy because it contains Vitamin C, and a lack of this vitamin is the only cause of the disease. But no one knew about vitamins at the time, or why lime juice helped prevent scurvy.

Then in 1906, an English scientist named Frederick Hopkins found that there were certain “hidden” things in food that the body needed to remain healthy. Another scientist called these hidden things vitamines, from the Latin word vita, meaning “life.” The e was later dropped from the end of the word.

Meanwhile, in China, rice mills had begun to take off the outer layer of rice kernels, producing white rice instead of brown rice. Soon, an epidemic of a disease called beriberi broke out in that nation.

In 1910, an American scientist found that the outer layer of rice kernels contains a substance he called thiamin, which the body needed to prevent beriberi. This vitamin, also called B1, was the first vitamin to be discovered.

Related Facts

  • What Is the Best Way To Squeeze the Maximum Amount of Juice Out of a Lemon or Lime?
  • Where do Germs, Bacteria, and Viruses come from and How do they make us sick?
  • Who Discovered Vitamins and How are the trace dietary chemical compounds essential to life and health?
  • What is the difference between brown rice flour, white rice flour, and sweet white rice flour?
  • How is Ceviche made and How does the Lime Juice in Ceviche Cook the Fish?
  • How Do Vitamins and Minerals Interact With Each Other and Must Some Vitamins Be Taken Separately?

Filed Under: Your Body

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Did Vitamins Get Their Names?
Next Post: What Is a Calorie? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy