Why do you have that rash?”Dorothy wanted to know. I had no idea.Sheadvised that I see a doctor she knew – a dermatologist. On my return from there I announced : “I have an atopic dermatitis.” Well, I could have told you that! “ said Dorothy, who was an ophthalmologist.

In her home I was given a good diet – the same sort of foods I had been accustomed to at home .I had a little more energy – managed to hold out through whole school days. If Dorothy ever thought of vitamins she never brought up the subject. She was not bossy, and would have considered it my own business.

Then we met the Greek doctor. She was at a lecture we attended to which I had been invited along with Dorothy. The two of them chatted afterwards, and arranged to meet again for dinner. I was asked to join them.

The Doctor from Greece was definitely a personality. She had a robust figure and a kind face. As we talked, she told about her early experiences in this country. She had come to find out more about the “learning disabled” children , in whom she was keenly interested. . Apparently there were many of them here in the states, and she wanted to explore why this was the case..

At first she wondered about birthing. Did something go wrong at the birth of these disabled learners? She was permitted to be present at births all over this country. Her pronouncement: “It was beau- ti - ful!” There was obviously nothing wrong with the way we brought children into the world in this country.

Then her research focused on experiments with guinea pigs. She exposed them to smoke from cigarettes. She gave them alcohol. Guess what! The guinea pigs were adversely affected. They became “learning disabled”. They failed to perform as guinea pigs should.

: “ What is wrong with these human children?” asked the Greek doctor. “ What is the cause of their learning problems?” She was quick to respond to her own question. The answer was self evident: to her.-- “The drinking of the father, the smoking of the mother!”
To us she said, “Just raise guinea pigs and expose them to alcohol and tobacco smoke. You’ll soon see what happens!” And she added an aside of her own :“Many of these children are conceived at holiday times. But not at Thanksgiving; then people go home to Mama.”

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When she heard that this same doctor had established a practice in our city, Dorothy urged me to go and see her. There were the usual tests, including blood, urine and hair testing. Some samples were sent off for assessment of vitamin content in the body. What in the world would that show?

Like those I had already heard from her, her words when I came back for the second appointment, were clear and straightforward :. “You are deficient in every vitamin known to man!”

Me? Me who thought I had grown up healthy, whose mother fed me cod liver oil and vitamin supplements. Who ate nutritious, carefully prepared food served by a loving, conscientious mother. Me who knew all about eating properly. Me, deficient in vitamins?

Enlightenment came along free of charge with the vitamin shots, given to compensate for my deficiencies, and massive multivitamin supplements that followed. . I had to admit that I was not eating entirely the way I used to at home. I had forgotten all about vitamins or any other supplements. And the food prepared in school and restaurant kitchens was kept warm on steam tables, certain to extract any nutritious value from the good veggies and other foods there.

Needless to say, I became a healthier person. Dorothy safeguarded the food value in the meals I had in her home. .I was back on health-conscious eating and vitamin supplements.

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Here I was then, a real-life demonstration of life with and without multivitamins. I learned to use the term, and to understand that it comprised the familiar lettered vitamins plus minerals and other substances essential for the health of the human body.