In 1920, the average American consumed about 1.4 milligrams of thiamin each day, which is just over what scientists recommend an average male consume. Then the government set out on the path of “enrichment” and gave companies the green light to add vitamins themselves. Today the food supply isn’t enriched with vitamins so much as drenched. A serving of Kellogg’s Froot Loops Tropical—without any milk—has at least 20 percent of the daily requirement of five vitamins. That is a lot of calorie-metabolizing potential. The average American now takes in three milligrams of thiamin per day. It may
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