Beriberi Disease
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Beriberi Disease is a disease that is caused by a lack of Vitamin B1 in your diet. Vitamin B1 can be found in foods such as sunflower seeds, barley and lentils.
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Although Beriberi disease is under control now, it reached epidemic stages throughout most of Asia, especially in China.
Although scientists at the time could work out it was a lack in Vitamins that were causing the high number of fatalities, they didn't know what Vitamin the people were lacking, or where to
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find this missing Vitamin. The thing that confused scientists the most was the fact that the rich were the most effected by Beriberi, and as all their food was washed so thoroughly, how could they get ill from it?
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It turned out that this was the answer the the scientists question- the rich were washing their rice too well! They were scrubbing the husk off the rice, and this is where Vitamin B1 is stored.
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Therefore the rich people weren't eating enough Vitamin B1 and got the Beriberi deficiency disease. On the other hand, the poor suffered less as they were unable to wash their rice very well, and so the husk, containing Vitamin B1, was left on the rice.
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ENDEMIC NEURITIS
One type of Beriberi is Endemic Neuritis, which causes wasting and partial paralysis. It can be identified by difficulty in walking, numbness is hands and feet, loss of muscle function in lower legs, vomiting and involuntary eye movements.
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WET BERIBERI
This type of the disease effects the heart and circulatory system. It can be fatal, as it causes heart failure and weakens the capillary walls. Along with this, there are other problems, like high blood pressure, shortage of breath, and swelling in the lower legs.
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INFANTILE BERIBERI
The third type is Infantile Beriberi, and is often caused by the mother of a child not taking in enough Vitamin B1. It mostly effects children between 2-6 months, and they don't live long, most of them dying within a year or two of heart failure.
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Beriberi disease is quite rare today, and is mostly found in alcoholics as their bodies are less efficient at taking in these vitamins.
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