Dealing with Beriberi in Japanese military?

Discussions on all aspects of the Japanese Empire, from the capture of Taiwan until the end of the Second World War.
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Hama
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Dealing with Beriberi in Japanese military?

#1

Post by Hama » 02 Sep 2016, 19:26

So after Takaki Kanehiro's experiments with diet to find the cause of Beriberi, what sort of measures did the Japanese Army and Navy take to combat this disease among troops?

I did hear that during WW2 white rice was still more common in military rations than brown (or "unpolished") rice. So I'm curious, how did the diet of Japanese soldiers and sailors change between Takaki's results and WW2? How long after Takaki's experiments did it take the military to accept that eating an unvaried diet of mainly white rice was actually harming their personnel, and what sort of changes did they make to try and provide a more varied diet?

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Akira Takizawa
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Re: Dealing with Beriberi in Japanese military?

#2

Post by Akira Takizawa » 03 Sep 2016, 03:30

To prevent Beriberi, barley rice(麦飯) was served in the Army and Navy. It decreased Beriberi patients. But, soldiers and sailors disliked barley rice. In some ships, barley was thrown away and sailors were eating white rice. It was difficult to implant an interest to health.

Taki


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Hama
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Re: Dealing with Beriberi in Japanese military?

#3

Post by Hama » 03 Sep 2016, 18:00

Did the Japanese government use scientific methods to fortify rations with extra vitamins? I've read some nations (like the US and Canada) fortified flour and bread with thiamin (チアミン) during the 1930s and '40s to boost vitamin consumption. Did Japan do something similar during that time? Or did foods like fortified rice come later in history?

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Akira Takizawa
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Re: Dealing with Beriberi in Japanese military?

#4

Post by Akira Takizawa » 03 Sep 2016, 18:29

Vitamin was made. But, it was expensive and hard to be mass-produced. Cheap and mass-produced vitamin was not succeeded until the war ended.

Taki

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Re: Dealing with Beriberi in Japanese military?

#5

Post by Hama » 03 Sep 2016, 19:38

Ok. Thanks for the information.

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