Hearing of this, Boston physicians George Minot and William Murphy decided to try feeding raw liver to human patients dying of pernicious anemia. To everyone's astonishment, patients forced to consume about a half-pound of raw liver daily made complete recoveries. Whipple, Minot, and Murphy shared the for this discovery. 2. Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Factors
The journey to a cure began with George Whipple , who was studying blood regeneration in anemic dogs. Due to a happy laboratory accident where a technician fed the dogs raw liver instead of cooked food, Whipple realized that .
In 1849, British physician Thomas Addison provided the first clear description of the disease, which is why it was originally known as Addisonian anemia.
Patients suffered from a slow, agonizing decline marked by severe pallor, extreme fatigue, a smooth and fiery red tongue, and irreversible neurological damage leading to paralysis, dementia, and death.
For decades, physicians could do nothing but watch their patients die. The breakthrough came from a series of accidental discoveries and brilliant deductions. 1. The Liver Diet Breakthrough (1920s)