Excerpt from The Etiology of Beri-Beri Epidemically and endeniically the occurrence of beri-beri is certainly greatest in those tropical and subtropical countries whose inhabitants partake of a diet in which rice forms an important and generally the staple constituent. The other articles of diet \aiy with the country but rice varies merely in kind or quality and but little in regard to the quantity consumed. In those countries where the disease is endemic the incidence has always been greatest among the poorer classes, inmates of p.1blic institutions and the like. Supporters of dietary hypotheses have therefore sought to account for the occurrence of the disease in that the diet consumed was deficient in some substance or substances essential for nutrition and those workers who have incrimiiiated rice consider either that a diet in which this article bulks largely is deficient in protein or fat, or that the rice has become diseased from the action of moulds or other organisms. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.