Abstract
Bulk quantities of vitamins for medical use first became available around 1940. Prior to this, the human species had existed for millions of years without the benefit of megavitamin therapy. As a corollary to this statement it is obvious that the ingestion of very large amounts of vitamins has played no part in the evolution of our species. However, Pauling (1974) has claimed that human beings, in the primitive state, existed in the tropics, where comparatively large amounts of ascorbic acid are available in foods, and therefore, ipso facto, the ascorbic acid requirements of human beings is much larger than the amount needed to saturate the body tissues. We shall discuss this point later.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bucci, T. J., Johnsen, D. O., Baker, E. M., and Canham, J. E., 1975, Nutritional requirement for ascorbic acid in the monkey, Fed. Proc. 34:883.
Chatterjee, I. B., 1976, Evolution and the biosynthesis of ascorbic acid, Science 182:1271.
Chatterjee, I. B., Kar, N. C., Ghosh, N. C., and Guha, B. C., 1961a, Aspects of ascorbic acid biosynthesis in animals, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 92:36.
Chatterjee, I. B., Kar, N. C., Ghosh, N. C., and Guha, B. C., 1961b, Biosynthesis of L-ascorbic acid: Missing steps in animals incapable of synthesizing the vitamin, Nature (London) 192:163.
Chaudhuri, C. R., and Chatterjee, I. B., 1969, l-Ascorbic acid synthesis in birds: Phylogenetic trends, Science 164:435.
Edwards, C. C., 1973, Fed. Regist. 38, 2145, January 19, 1973.
Food and Nutrition Board, 1974, Recommended Dietary Allowances, 8th ed,. National Research Council-National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
Fouts, P. J., Helmer, O. M., Lepkovsky, S., and Jukes, T. H., 1937, Treatment of human pellagra with nicotinic acid, Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 37:405.
Herbert, V., 1977, Toxicity of vitamin E, Nutr. Rev. 35:158.
Herbert, V., and Jacob, E., 1974, Destruction of vitamin B12 by ascorbic acid, J. Am. Med. Assoc. 230:241.
Hodges, R. E., Baker, E. M., Hood, J., Säuberlich, H. E., and March, S. C., 1969, Experimental scurvy in man, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 22:535.
Hodges, R. E., Hood, J., Canham, J. E., Säuberlich, H. E., and Baker, E. M., 1971, Clinical manifestations of ascorbic acid deficiency in man, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 24:432.
Holst, A., and Frölich, T., 1907, Experimental studies relating to “ship beri-beri” and scurvy, II: On the etiology of scurvy: On the macroscopical alterations in the tissues of guinea-pigs which had been fed exclusively on bread, groats, and unpealed grains, J. Hyg. 7:634.
Hume, E. M., and Krebs, H. A., 1949, Vitamin A Requirements of Human Adults: An Experimental Study of Vitamin A Deprivation in Man, Medical Research Council Special Report Series 246, His Majesty’s Stationery Office, London.
Jukes, T. H., 1939, Vitamin B6 deficiency in chicks, Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 42:180.
Jukes, T. H., 1942, Experiments on the storage of vitamin A by growing turkeys, Poult. Sci. 21:357.
Jukes, T. H., 1974a, Are recommended daily allowances for vitamin C adequate? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 71:1949.
Jukes, T. H., 1974b, Further comments on the ascorbic acid requirement, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 71:1949–1951.
Jukes, T. H., and Heitman, H., Jr., 1940, Biological assay of thiamin with chicks, J. Nutr. 19:21.
Jukes, T. H., and King, J. L., 1975, Evolutionary loss of ascorbic acid synthesizing ability, J. Hum. Evol. 4:85–88.
Kimura, M., 1968, Genetic variability maintained in a finite population due to mutational production of neutral and nearly neutral isoalleles, Genet. Res. 11:247.
King, J. L., and Jukes, T. H., 1969, Non-darwinian evolution: Most evolutionary change in proteins may be due to neutral mutations and genetic drift, Science 164:788.
National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, 1962, Nutrient requirements of laboratory animals, Publication 299.
National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, 1973, Nutrient requirements of swine, Publication 225.
Nei, M., 1967, Modification of linkage intensity by natural selection, Genetics 57:625.
Ohta, T., 1973, Slightly deleterious mutant substitutions in evolution, Natura (London) 246:96.
Ohta, T., and Kimura, M., 1971, Amino acid composition of proteins as a product of molecular evolution, Science 174:150.
Pauling, L., 1968, Orthomolecular psychiatry, Science 160:265.
Pauling, L., 1970a, Evolution and the need for ascorbic acid, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 67, 1643–1648.
Pauling, L., 1970b, Vitamin C and the Common Cold, W. H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco.
Pauling, L., 1974, Are the recommended dietary allowances for vitamin C adequate? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 71:4442.
Recommended Dietary Allowances, 1974, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
Rodahl, K., 1949, Toxicity of polar bear liver, Nature (London) 164:530.
Schrauzer, G. N., and Rhead, W., Jr., 1973, Ascorbic acid abuse: Effects of long term ingestion of excessive amounts on blood levels and urinary excretion, Int. J. Vitamin. Nutr. Res. 42:201.
U.S. Senate Bills S2801 and S3867, 93rd Congress, Second Session, August 14, 1974, p. 557.
Williams, R. J., 1956, Biochemical Individuality, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Yew, M. I. S., 1973, Recommended daily allowances for vitamin C,Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 70, 969–972.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1979 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jukes, T.H. (1979). Megavitamins and Food Fads. In: Hodges, R.E. (eds) Nutrition. Human Nutrition, vol 4. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7213-8_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7213-8_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-7215-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-7213-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive