Nutrition History (from Parts Unknown)

In episode 6 of Nutrition History from Parts Unknown, we are tracing the origins and history of the disease of nutritional deficiency known as pellagra, a disease which claimed over 100,000 American lives in a relatively short course of 100 years. These numbers may not seem especially high when compared to the toll infectious disease like typhoid or cholera claimed(which tally in the millions)—but pellagra is not an infectious disease—it is a disease caused by a dietary deficiency, more specifically a deficiency in vitamin B3, also known as niacin. Today’s episode will trace the 300 year history which saw the disease of pellagra emerge, the reasons why it emerged, and the grueling process to discover it’s true causes. It’s a story filled with vampires, and parties, and some very questionable science.