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Bruce M. Nicol

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Bruce Milligan Nicol (born 24 March 1913 in Ayrshire died 29 November 1988) was a Scottish physician and nutrition scientist. He researched and published extensively on Nigerian foods and nutrition.[1]

Biography and career

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Nicol had his primary and secondary school education at Edinburgh Academy where he excelled at learning, cricket, and rugby football. He qualified as a physician from University of Aberdeen in 1935. In his immediate postgraduate career he worked for Professors James Learmonth and Stanley Davidson. When the latter moved to University of Edinburgh, Nicol went with him.[2]

While working with Davidson, Nicol's interests matured and focused on peptic ulcer disease. His clinical work and research were supplemented by a stint as a ship's surgeon. In this capacity, he obtained a wide exposure to medicine and his knowledge of ulcers was broaded through visits to hospitals in his ports of call in India and the Far East.

In 1936, he joined the 51st Highland Division as a Territorial Officer in the British Royal Corps of Signals. He was sent to France in a non-medical role at the outbreak of World War I. His qualifications in medicine did not go unnoticed and he was transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corps.[3] He was awarded the Officer of the British Empire (Military Division) for his role at the Battle of Arnhem.[4]

In 1947, Nicol transferred to the Colonial Medical Service and was assigned to Nigeria where he spent two decades as a doctor and nutritionist. As a District Medical Officer in Northern Nigeria, he became interested in Nigerian foods and food production. As a result, he conducted extensive studies into the staple food of different Nigerian groups and published eight substantial journal articles on the subject in the British Journal of Nutrition alone.[2][1]

After Nigeria achieved political independence from Britain, Nicol joined the Food and Agriculture Organization. His first assignment was as a Liaison Officer with UNICEF in New York. While there, he made significant contributions to the understanding of the Alfatoxin problem in tropically grown groundnuts and its role in the genesis of liver cancer. This was a serious problem at a time when groundnut production was being heavily in Third World countries.

In 1962, Nicol was assigned to FAO Headquarters in Rome as deputy director of the Nutritions Division, and later as acting director during the prolonged illness of Marcel Autret.[4] He retired from FAO in 1973 to live in Dorset. In his retirement, he undertook consultancies in Malaysia and Indonesia, and devoted several years to Ecology of Food and Nutrition journal serving as a reviewer and member of the editorial board.[4][1]

Selected publications

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Nicol, B. M. "The Nutrition of Nigerian peasants, with special reference to the effects of deficiencies of the vitamin B complex, vitamin A and animal protein." British Journal of Nutrition 6, no. 1 (1952): 34–55.[5]

Nicol, B. M. "Nutrition of Nigerian Peasant Farmers, with special reference to the effects of vitamin A and riboflavin deficiency." British Journal of Nutrition 3, no. 1 (1949): 25–43.[6]

Nicol, B. M. "The Nutrition of Nigerian children, with particular reference to their energy requirements." British Journal of nutrition 10, no. 3 (1956): 181–197.[7]

Nicol, B. M. "The Protein Requirements of Nigerian Peasant Farmers." British Journal of Nutrition 13, no. 3 (1959): 307–320.[8]

Nicol, B. M., and P. G. Phillips. "The Utilization of Dietary Protein by Nigerian Men." British Journal of Nutrition 36, no. 3 (1976): 337–351.[9]

Nicol, B. M. "The nutrition of Nigerian children, with particular reference to their ascorbic-acid requirements." British Journal of Nutrition 10, no. 4 (1956): 275–285.[10]

Nicol, B. M., and P. G. Phillips. "The utilization of proteins and amino acids in diets based on cassava (Manihot utilissima), rice or sorghum (Sorghum sativa) by young Nigerian men of low income." British Journal of Nutrition 39, no. 2 (1978): 271–287.

Nicol, B. M. "The Calorie Requirements of Nigerian Peasant Farmers." British Journal of Nutrition 13, no. 3 (1959): 293–306.[11]

Nicol, B. M. "Tribal Nutrition and Health in Nigeria: A Comparative Clinical Study of Primitive and Urban Nutrition." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1, no. 5 (1953): 364–371.[12]

Nicol, B. M. "Fertility and food in Northern Nigeria." West African Medical Journal 8, no. 1 (1959): 18–27.

Nicol, B. M. "Protein in the diet of the Isoko tribe of the Niger delta." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 12, no. 1 (1953): 66–69.[13]

Nicol, B. M. "Reasons for, and methods in dietary and food consumption surveys." In Assessment of Nutritional Status and Food Consumption Surveys, vol. 20, pp. 69–76. Karger Publishers, 1974.[14]

Nicol, B.M. et al. "Beta-Lipoprotein and Cholesterol Concentrations in Sera of Nigerians." British Medical Journal 2, no. 4946 (1955): 1008.[15]

Nicol, B. M. Wind of Chance. Edinburgh: Pentland Press, 1991. ISBN 0946270988[2]

Nicol, B.M. et al. Handbook on Human Nutritional Requirements. World Health Organization, 1977.[16]

Nicol, B. M. Food and Nutrition in the Agricultural Development Plan for Indonesia. Jakarta: FAO Planning Team, 1974.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Obituary: B. M. Nicol". British Medical Journal (Clinical research ed.). 296 (6626): 941. 1988-03-26. ISSN 0267-0623. PMC 2546345.
  2. ^ a b c Nicol, B. M. (1991). Wind of Chance. Pentland Press. ISBN 0946270988.
  3. ^ Great Britain Army, Royal Army Medical Corps (1945). Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps.
  4. ^ a b c Nicol, Bruce (1990). "Obituary". Ecology of Food and Nutrition. 24 (4): 313–315. doi:10.1080/03670244.1990.9991149. ISSN 0367-0244.
  5. ^ Nicol, B. M. (1952). "The Nutrition of Nigerian Peasants, with Special Reference to the Effects of Deficiencies of the Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin A and Animal Protein". British Journal of Nutrition. 6 (1): 34–55. doi:10.1079/bjn19520004. ISSN 0007-1145.
  6. ^ Nicol, B. M. (1949). "Nutrition of Nigerian Peasant Farmers, with Special Reference to the Effects of Vitamin A and Riboflavin Deficiency". British Journal of Nutrition. 3 (1): 25–43. doi:10.1079/bjn19490006. ISSN 0007-1145.
  7. ^ Nicol, B. M. (1956). "The nutrition of Nigerian children, with particular reference to their energy requirements". British Journal of Nutrition. 10 (3): 181–197. doi:10.1079/bjn19560031. ISSN 0007-1145.
  8. ^ Nicol, B. M. (1959). "The protein requirements of Nigerian peasant farmers". British Journal of Nutrition. 13 (3): 307–320. doi:10.1079/bjn19590041. ISSN 0007-1145.
  9. ^ Nicol, B. M.; Phillips, P. G. (1976). "The Utilization of Dietary Protein by Nigerian Men". British Journal of Nutrition. 36 (3): 337–351. doi:10.1079/bjn19760091. ISSN 0007-1145.
  10. ^ Nicol, B. M. (1956). "The Nutrition of Nigerian Children, with particular reference to their ascorbic-acid requirements". British Journal of Nutrition. 10 (4): 275–285. doi:10.1079/bjn19560043. ISSN 0007-1145.
  11. ^ Nicol, B. M. (1959). "The calorie requirements of Nigerian peasant farmers". British Journal of Nutrition. 13 (3): 293–306. doi:10.1079/bjn19590040. ISSN 0007-1145.
  12. ^ Nicol, Bruce M. (1953). "Tribal Nutrition and Health in Nigeria". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1 (5): 364–371. doi:10.1093/ajcn/1.5.364. ISSN 0002-9165.
  13. ^ Nicol, B. M. (1953). "Protein in the Diet of the Isoko Tribe of the Niger Delta". Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 12 (1): 66–69. doi:10.1079/pns19530015. ISSN 0029-6651.
  14. ^ Nicol, B. M. (1974), "Reasons for, and Methods in Dietary and Food Consumption Surveys", Assessment of Nutritional Status and Food Consumption Surveys, S. Karger AG, pp. 69–76, ISBN 978-3-8055-1685-3, retrieved 2024-08-05
  15. ^ Mann, G. V.; Nicol, B. M.; Stare, F. J. (1955-10-22). "Beta-Lipoprotein and Cholesterol Concentrations in Sera of Nigerians". BMJ. 2 (4946): 1008–1010. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.4946.1008. ISSN 0959-8138.
  16. ^ Passmore, R.; Nicol, Bruce Milligan; Rao, M. Narayana (1974). Handbook on Human Nutritional Requirements. Food & Agriculture Org. ISBN 978-92-5-100129-5.
  17. ^ Nicol, B. M. (1974). Food and Nutrition in the Agricultural Development Plan for Indonesia. Jakarta: FAO Planning Team.
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