An example of the dangers of a restricted diet may be seen in the disease known as " beriberi" .

限制饮食的危险的一个例子可以在被称为“脚气病”的疾病中看到。

In the early years of this century, a scientist named Eijkman was trying to discover the cause of " beriberi" .

本世纪初，一位名叫艾克曼的科学家试图找出“脚气病”的病因。

He had survived pellagra in Persia, scurvy in the Malayan archipelago, leprosy in Alexandria, beriberi in Japan, bubonic plague in Madagascar, an earthquake in Sicily, and a disastrous shipwreck in the Strait of Magellan.

他在波癞病，在来亚群坏血病，在亚历山大麻疯病，在日本脚气病，在达加加淋巴腺鼠疫，在西西里碰到地震，在麦哲伦海峡遇到牺牲惨重的轮船失事。

He began to consider the possibility that eating unpolished rice somehow prevented or cured " beriberi" -even that a lack of some element in the husk might be the cause of the disease.

他开始考虑吃未精米的可能性，以某种方式预防或治愈“脚气病”——即使稻壳中缺乏某种元素也可能是导致这种疾病的原因。

The element needed to prevent " beriberi" was shortly afterwards isolated from rice husks and is now known as vitamin B. Nowadays, this terrible disease is much less common thanks to our know-edge of vitamins.

不久之后，人们从稻壳中分离出了预防“脚气病”所需的元素，现在被称为维生素 B。如今，由于我们对维生素的了解，这种可怕的疾病已不再常见。