The Shogun who died of a sweet tooth

It is said that Tokugawa Iemochi, the 14th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, died from a sweet tooth! Whether that is true or not, I don't know. But what is fact is that 30 of his 31 teeth had cavities. He died from heart failure due to beriberi disease, earning him the nickname the beriberi Shogun.

Beriberi is a disease caused by thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. When you eat sweets vitaimin B1 is used to metabolize the sugar, which leads to the deficiency. In the west it is rarely said that beriberi comes about as a result of eating too much candy. But the old wives tales in Japan claim that Tokugawa Iemochi's got the disease from his love of candy! However, in the west it is believed that too much white rice can contribue to beriberi disease. No doubt, white rice consumption played a part in Iemochi developing the disease.

Tokugawa Iemochi was just 20 years old when he died, leaving behind his wife princess Kazu-no-Miya and a three year old adopted son in Osaka. Iemochi was succeeded by Yoshinobu who was the last Tokugawa Shogun and witnessed the end of the shogunate for the Meiji Restoration. 

Had you ever heard of the Beriberi Shogun before?