Dutch physician and pathologist Christiaan Eijkman (1858–1930) was born on this day in Gelderland, The Netherlands. His work reminds us that the path to healing often begins with simple, overlooked truths.

Eijkman is best known for his 1890s research in the tropical jungles of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), where he studied the disease beriberi. From the Sinhalese word for "weak," beriberi impaired the nerves and heart. In epidemic waves across Asia, up to eighty percent died from the disease.

"Wisdom is not acquired save as the result of investigation," said Hindu theologian Sankara Acharya. Eijkman investigated and discovered that people had to live in affected areas for several weeks to develop beriberi. He observed the same symptoms in chickens and traced the cause to a lack of nourishment.

"Prevention," said Renaissance scholar Erasmus, "is better than cure." Eijkman concluded that beriberi stemmed from a deficiency in unknown natural substances—what we now know as vitamins. For this profound discovery, he was honored with the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1929.

Our understanding of wellness continues to grow. We now know that nutrients don’t just nourish the body—they lift the mind and soothe the spirit. B-complex vitamins, essential to emotional balance, cannot be stored and are often lost to daily habits like caffeine or sugar. Vitamins B1, B3, B5, B6, B12, and folic acid help harmonize the body from within.

Listen inward. Get in tune with your own rhythms. A small habit, like taking a daily vitamin, can be an act of quiet love for yourself.

Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi once said, “Vitamins, if properly understood and applied, will help us to reduce human suffering to an extent which the most fantastic mind would fail to imagine.”

Even rocker David Lee Roth caught the vibe: “Rock and Roll is attitude, burgers, naps, and vitamins.” Health, like music, finds power in rhythm, balance, and joy.