National Library of Medicine
	Poverty meant that few sharecroppers or mill workers could afford to eat a well-balanced diet. Meager diets that consisted mainly of cornmeal, molasses, and a few vegetables were the rule. It took several years for Goldberger’s discovery to be accepted and for effective public health action to be taken. Dietary supplements of brewer’s yeast, and improvement of diets to include more meat, milk and vegetables resulted in reducing the prevalence of the condition in the 1930’s.  In 1937, niacin was identified as the specific nutritional factor related to the disease. Enrichment of flour, corn meal and other products with the B vitamins began in the 1940’s.