🇵🇭How One Filipino Used Rice to Fight a Deadly Disease

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]This Filipino helped save thousands of lives from one of the deadliest diseases in the Philippines using rice. But how did he do it and who was he? He was born on September 23rd, 1904 in Pasai and later earned his medical degree from the University of the Philippines in 1929.

[00:00:25]After graduating, he became a physiology instructor and dedicated himself to studying diseases affecting Filipinos.

[00:00:33]At the time, Ber Berry had become the second leading cause of death in the Philippines after tuberculosis.

[00:00:41]The disease caused weakness, paralysis, heart problems, and even death, especially among poor families and infants. While studying the illness, he discovered something alarming. Filipinos loved white rice because it looked cleaner and more appealing. But the polishing process removed vitamin B1 or thamin, the nutrient that protected people from berry berry. Without realizing it, the country's most common food had become part of a deadly health crisis. Wanting to solve the problem, he studied biochemistry at Columbia University in 1943 during World War II.

[00:01:26]There he met American scientist Robert R. Williams, who was known for his work on vitamin B1. Together they created a way to enrich rice and give ordinary families a simple but life-saving solution. After the war, they launched the historic Bata and rice enrichment project from 1947 to 1949.

[00:01:52]Around 63,000 people in Batan were given enriched rice containing vitamin B1, iron, and other nutrients, while other communities continued eating ordinary rice so scientists could compare the results. In some areas, Berry Berry cases dropped between 76 and 94%.

[00:02:15]While in several communities, the disease nearly disappeared. The project proved that something as simple as improving everyday food could save countless lives. The success of the project later helped him become Secretary of Health where he pushed for Republic Act number 832 or the National Rice Enrichment Act of 1952, a law requiring rice enrichment across the country. In the same year, he became the first Filipino elected president of the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization. However, many rice millers opposed the law because it increased costs and brought stricter inspections. Despite its success, weak enforcement slowly reduced support for the program, becoming one of the greatest disappointments of his career.

[00:03:11]Even so, he continued dedicating his life to public health. He helped organize rural health units that brought doctors, medicines, and health care services to remote communities with little access to health care. He also supported national campaigns against tuberculosis and malaria, including the wider use of the BCG vaccine to protect children from tuberculosis. He later led the Institute of Nutrition, which became today's Food and Nutrition Research Institute, and also headed the National Science Development Board, now known as the Department of Science and Technology. Throughout his career, he published more than 260 scientific studies on nutrition and public health.

[00:04:00]He also received the Rammon Mags Award for his contributions to public health and nutrition. In 1978, he became part of the first batch of National Scientists of the Philippines. In October 1988, he passed away and was laid to rest at the hero's cemetery. Did you know his name was Juan Sanchez Saledo Jr., the Filipino scientist who proved that not all heroes wear capes.

[00:04:33]Some simply serve rice.