![]() Consider vitamin B6 (pyridoxine): It plays important roles in growth, cognitive development, depression, immune function, the production of antibodies and hemoglobin, nerve maintenance, and the breakdown of protein. ![]() They’re also incredibly versatile molecules. It is alarming to think that the only thing standing between us and these miseries is an adequate amount of only thirteen chemicals in our diets. Vitamins are necessary to prevent a host of horrifying illnesses, like beriberi (thiamin deficiency-swollen limbs, lost appetite, suffocating, convulsive death), scurvy (vitamin C deficiency-lethargy, achy joints, bruising, rotting gums, eventual death by internal hemorrhaging), and pellagra (niacin deficiency-skin discoloration and scaling, disfiguration, mental stupor, vertigo, emaciation, and violent diarrhea). Catherine Price’s forthcoming (Feb 24) “ Vitamania: Our Obsessive Quest for Nutritional Perfection,” is the surprisingly fascinating story of vitamins-their discovery, their functions in our bodies, and how they’ve been co-opted by an industry that has fostered a cultural infatuation with what we include, or fail to include, in our diets. When an author manages this with the beaten-to-death topic of nutrition, it’s doubly impressive. Now and then a book comes along that educates and entertains at the same time. ![]()
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