The 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to two researchers from a team at the University of Toronto. Physicians Frederick Banting and Sinthu Macleod were credited with the discovery and practical extraction of insulin. Upset that the prize failed to mention other team members, the men shared their awards with medical student Charles Best and biochemist James Collip. Although they played a vital role, the dogs were not credited for their part.

The discovery of insulin began in 1869 when a Berlin medical student, Paul Langerhans, placed pancreatic tissue under a microscope and noted clumps, or little islands of tissue within the gland's jelly-like structure. Twenty years later, two European physicians removed the pancreas from a healthy dog in order to test its role in digestion. Consequently, noticing flies swarming the dog urine, they found sugar in it, establishing a relationship between the pancreas and diabetes.

Later, it was discovered that the tissue clumps, or "Islets of Langerhans," were absent in diabetics. By 1920, at the University of Toronto, a small team of researchers and physicians was given a lab, one assistant and 10 dogs. Determined, they set out to test their theory that excretions from the pancreas could be used to treat diabetes. They developed a method to isolate an extract from the dog's islets producing what they called isletin (islands/insulin). The patent for insulin was sold to the University of Toronto for $1 and, shortly thereafter, the drug firm Eli Lilly & Company offered assistance to produce large quantities of purified insulin. By 1922, insulin was being sold to treat human diabetes. Elsewhere, during the aftermath of World War I and through the early 1930s, the U.S. was in pursuit of social and economic advances at home and abroad. The government dramatically increased the export of American products while increasing imports of fruit, coffee, bananas, and especially sugar from the Philippines, Cuba, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands and other small Pan American countries. For years, Philippine sugar companies in particular paid no tariffs. As a nice touch, in 1923 the USDA Farmers Bulletin included sugar as part of its food guide, apparently recommending one pound of sugar per person per week! For future good, it is important to grasp an understanding of the repercussions of this intersecting history.

Essentially, the human body is a complex collection of chemical elements, free electrons, and electromagnetic fields. It requires nutrition, water and clean energy to survive. The body's immune system is designed to identify foreign or toxic matter.

What causes the system to turn on man-made chemicals (such as are in processed foods or cleaners) or to react to any one of the 118 natural elements of chemistry? In the past century, an extreme change in the American diet and lifestyle seems to have changed the face of disease. In some, lacking genetic instructions to metabolize or detoxify chemical elements or combinations of elements, the immune system rejects or becomes hypersensitive (allergic) to it's own cells. Not recognizing them, it eventually destroys them. Obesity and allergies are becoming common symptoms of more complicated disease. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), autoimmune diseases are rapidly on the rise and now the third most common category in the United States after cancer and heart disease. Diabetes alone has doubled in 15 years. As of 2005, 78 percent of autoimmune disease occurred in women in the United States. Some are multiple sclerosis, hypo/ hyperthyroidism, Lupus, Addison's, diabetes mellitus type 1, Crohn's disease, arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. Genetically linked, they can be impacted or possibly caused by stress, viruses, malnutrition, or exposure to unrecognized chemical (molecular) compounds.

People consume various chemical combinations daily - through food, skin and the respiratory tract. To avoid autoimmune disease, they can learn to identify and eliminate individual allergens and sensitivities. Starting with pharmaceutical drugs - check for the origin and for purity of ingredients; obtain a complete list of active and inactive ingredients (fillers). Eliminate or eat minimally processed foods and sugars -- consume fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and natural meats, fish & poultry. Drink water that is clean and contains necessary minerals -- know the source of the water. Limit exposure to toxic chemicals by using simple, inexpensive household cleaners such as borax, vinegar, mint, thyme, lemon, olive oil, salt and baking soda. Use body and hair products free of harsh preservatives and chemicals.

It's all about what happened in 1922. Looking back at history, one might wonder if uncanny coincidence exists or if the flawed consequences of parallel events are the result of brilliant plans or altruistic intentions.

The prize should have gone to the dogs.

(Mimi Borger is classified manager for The Observer. She is the author of "The Story of Mr. Allergyhead." Reach her at TheObserver@rrobserver.com)