Fifty-five-year personal experience with human nutrition worldwide

By 1950 the vitamins had been identified, but little was known of their functions. Beriberi, pellagra, and ariboflavinosis were disappearing, but kwashiorkor and/or marasmus were common in most developing countries. Requirements for protein were still uncertain, and those for essential amino acids or essential fatty acids were unknown. The author's contributions in the field of vitamins began in the 1950s and have been reported in more than 650 publications and in 20 books or monographs. These contributions include establishing the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama, the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the World Hunger Program of the United Nations University, and the International Nutrition Foundation. His scientific contributions include identification of synergistic interactions of nutrition and infection, use of potassium iodate for fortifying crude moist salt, research in the epidemiology of kwashiorkor and marasmus, development of a successful low-cost protein-rich food for infants and young children, establishment of human protein requirements, and investigation of single-cell protein for food use.