Only 100 years ago, some people were suffering from an unknown disease. It seemed to have something to do with the consumption of corn (maize). Strangely, the people of Central America did not suffer from this disease, despite their reliance on corn.

Today, we "know" that pellagra is due to a deficiency of niacin. So how is that related to corn?


We think our knowledge of medicine is so advanced, yet a "simple" nutritional deficiency had our best minds stumped only a few generations ago. Our understanding of nutrition and biochemistry is still primitive, because the chemical processes of the body are so varied and complex. Yet we give ourselves free reign to modify the directors of complex chemical processes, the DNA, in the very food we consume, even though we haven't the slightest clue how it will affect our health.

See what happens when we let sociopaths chart our future?

Excellent find, Chico!!

You can be quite the asset when your purpose vector is pointed at truths.

Pax Nixtamalization And Niacin

ps: I hope I don't get accused by Andy of sucking up to Chico, e.g. for agreeing with him.

Not likely, because:

1. I am clearly your most severe critic and not a potential yes-man for your opinions.
2. Your agreeing with me on anything is currently a rare event.
3. Disagreeing with the historical info from Wikipedia would be like disagreeing with a peer-reviewed encyclopedia.
4. Andy is not as dumb as you ungraciously infer.

The cases of missing Vitamin D is interesting. I think it would be simple to create this type of malnutrition with our current agriculture paradigm.
This not just points to cellular, but molecular too. Frightening stuff...

Obesity, Alzheimer's, disease in general.

Would Andy call me out on Jesus if say this type of stuff?

"FU Mags you believe in Jesus!"

There is a back story to the opening post.

I was invited a couple of days ago by a friend to attend an "End of the World" party at her Unitarian church today (December 21, 2012). She said she was going to prepare tamales for the event. It occurred to me today that I didn't really know precisely what a tamale was. I do know that the Internet is a great resource, so I looked up tamale. It said "tamales begin with a dough made from nixtamalized corn". There was a word I didn't know, so I clicked on nixtamalized. There I got a fascinating lesson in chemistry, history, and nutrition, all involving corn preparation. The nutritional value of the corn is actually enhanced by the caustic processing, the article claimed, and it prevents a nutritional deficiency called pellagra. I had never heard of that illness, so I clicked on pellagra. Interestingly enough, pellagra is still not understood in all of its details, but we know enough now to avoid it.

Despite all that new-found information, I ended up staying home, rationalizing that I had already used up my $5 gasoline allotment for the week. I'm sure those worrying that the world might end wouldn't be concerned about their gasoline budget.

It's interesting to see where a simple question can lead you if you seek the answer.

It's ggod to laugh about it. I mean good! Freudian slip...

Religion is perhaps the most sensitive area for debate, because it is so closely tied to various powerful emotions. We have to expect to be triggered ourselves and/or trigger others, which can lead to a cascading chain reaction and potential explosion. For that very reason, many people actively avoid discussing religion. Personally, I think it is far too important not to debate, regardless of whether religion is true or false (especially if it is false, as I am inclined to suspect)!

Those that can debate religion with an open mind and respect for dissenting opinions are to be commended, in my opinion. You did put yourself out there with a couple of religious debate threads, Mags, and I think that is admirable. I thank you for that.