Fitness

Vitamins B1, B2, and niacin have long been made synthetically and are the cheap B vitamins. Liver is the richest natural source of vitamin B2, or riboflavin; yeast runs a close second. Since these foods are rarely eaten, for all practical purposes milk is the most reliable source. This vitamin is found in leafy vegetables but can be absorbed only after they are cooked; it is not available from salads.

According to many authorities, a lack of vitamin B2 is the most widespread deficiency in America. Dr. Henry Borsook, studying workers in defense plants during World War II, found approximately 60 per cent showing advanced deficiency symptoms. It has been my experience that symptoms of this deficiency are to be found in almost every person who drinks less than one quart of milk a day.

The symptoms of vitamin-Be deficiency are fairly well understood; studies have been made of human volunteers living on diets adequate in all nutrients except this vitamin. The most universal sign is a magenta or purplish tongue, caused by stagnant blood held in the taste buds. Changes in the lips, however, usually occur earlier, the lower lip apparently being affected first. Perpendicular lines or tiny wrinkles may be seen; later these disappear, and the lip becomes crinkled and rough, often feeling as if it were chapped; tiny Hakes of skin may peel from it. All too often these symptoms can be seen merely by studying yourself in the mirror.

When the deficiency becomes acute, the corners of the mouth split or crack. These cracks do not heal readily and repeatedly break open; although they do not bleed, they become quite sore. They may extend half an inch into the outer cheek and an equal length or more on the inside of the mouth. These cracks appear or disappear depending upon the vitamin-Be intake.

In case the deficiency continues, wrinkles appear radiating from the mouth in much the same direction as is seen when the mouth is puckered for whistling. These wrinkles, which I call whistle marks, may extend half way to the nose. Lipstick gradually creeps up these whistle marks, giving an irregular and ridiculous appearance. Since most of us are vain enough to smile pleasantly at ourselves in the mirror, whistle marks are rarely noticed by the individual who has them; they are visible only when the face is relaxed.

If the deficiency is slight but of long standing, cracks may never appear; instead, the upper lip becomes progressively smaller. In many cases, the upper lip practically disappears. ‘Women with this symptom usually wear their lipstick far above their upper-lip line. The disappearance of the upper lip is common among elderly persons, who invariably blame their false teeth; persons having their own teeth, however, show the same symptoms. I see whistle marks and atrophied upper lips daily, often in persons thirty years of age or even younger.

An early symptom of vitamin-Be deficiency is that the eyes become sensitive to light; like persons deficient in vitamin A, such people usually feel more comfortable wearing dark glasses. If the nutrition is adequate in vitamins A and E, a person’s night vision will be normal, but his vision in dim light or twilight is faulty; he feels confused in dim light. If he comes into a room where others are enjoying the twilight, he usually demands irritably, “Why are you sitting in the dark?” and quickly snaps on the lights. Even though his eyes are sensitive to bright light, he cannot work or write with ease unless the lights are bright. As the deficiency becomes more severe, his eyes may water, the lids may itch and burn and he occasionally feels as if grains of sand are under the lids or particles of dirt are in his eyes. You can notice such a person frequently rubbing or wiping his eyes.

If the eyes are severely strained, they become bloodshot.

Enzymes containing vitamin B2 normally combine with oxygen from the air to supply the cells in the cornea, or tissue covering the eye; when this vitamin is inadequate, the body forms tiny blood vessels in this tissue, thus supplying it with oxygen. After these blood vessels are formed, the blood will drain from them when vitamin B2 is adequate and they are not needed, but the blood vessels remain; hence blood can . quickly enter them again whenever a deficiency recurs. The person whose eyes have once been bloodshot, therefore, often suffers quick recurrences whenever his diet becomes deficient.

A condition similar to bloodshot eyes frequently occurs in the skin of the cheeks. Tiny blood vessels are formed in the outer layers of skin which normally would not contain blood vessels. Such blood vessels can be seen on close examination with the naked eye, and even at a distance they give the cheeks a high color. This abnormal coloring, called acne rosacea, may occur high in the cheeks under the eyes, over the lower jaw or far back on the face in the lateral line near the ears. In severe cases, most often seen in alcoholics, these blood vessels form in the skin over the nose and sometimes the entire face.

These symptoms disappear when the nutrition is completely adequate, the length of time depending upon the severity of the condition, the amount of vitamins given, and the completeness of absorption. I have seen severely bloodshot eyes appear normal again in 24 hours. The tiny blood vessels in the cheeks usually become invisible within two to four weeks after dietary improvement, but they are sometimes maddeningly persistent.