In this ecofact we’re here to discuss how the legend of vampires may very well have arisen from a basic misunderstanding of human biology. Let us explain. Corn, which was discovered in the new world was brought back to Europe in the 1500s. It quickly became a crop of the poor – who would often eat nothing but corn as their main energy source. But, here is the problem. Corn contains the essential vitamin, niacin, in an inaccessible form. Thus, eating a diet of only corn, leads to a vitamin deficiency known as pellagra. Victims of pellagra are hyper sensitive to sunlight. If exposed, the skin often turns shiny with scaly areas. The brain starts to degenerate causing the person to have insomnia … anxiety, aggression, and depression. Often the persons stomach bleeds … meaning they can not eat normal food and can often digest only blood. So there are the facts, decide for yourself.
Enjoy yourself on Halloween, but remember that even myths can often be explained with an understanding of the basics of science.
The history of pellagra and its relationship to corn is extremely interesting. Corn is native to the new world and was brought back to Europe soon after it was discovered by Europeans. Corn was very cheap to grow and it quickly became the dominant food source for the very poor. The typical peasant in Europe during the period of 1750 to 1850 became corn. An association between corn and the disease, pellagra soon became apparent. It was only research in the present century, however, which revealed the true nature of the disease. Pellagra is most often due to a lack of niacin. Corn does have naicin in it, but it is not accessible in its raw form.
Here is another interesting tid-bit - Pellagra was not common in the new world where corn was native. The reason for this is that peasants in Mexico and Central America prepared corn differently. Tortillas, which were often prepared with lime (an alkali), were often created from corn products. This helped to extract naicin from the corn and thus insured that pellagra didn't arise.
Untamed Science produces close to 100 short videos a year. They're seen all over the web, as well as in school classrooms. Here is a small selection of some of the videos we produce.
Links:
[1] http://www.rlrouse.com/history-of-corn.html