In 1921, Canadians Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated insulin for the first time.

CNN: Monday,

Insulin in crude form was first produced in 1922 by Canadian researchers Frederick Banting and Charles Best, lifting the death sentence that had previously been imposed on diabetics.

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Indeed, it pays to remember that the first modern fad diet William Banting's low-carbohydrate regimen appeared in 1863, at the peak of Great Britian's imperial power.

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The once portly Banting, who lived at 27 St James's Street, London (next door to what is now The Economist building) understood that even better than alcohol-sceptic Dr Atkins.

ECONOMIST: Dieting