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Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). [1] Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue ...
In advanced scurvy there is fever, old wounds may become open and suppurating, loss of teeth, convulsions and, eventually, death. Until quite late in the disease the damage is reversible, as healthy collagen replaces the defective collagen with vitamin C repletion.
The condition is associated with sailors who weren't eating fruit and vegetables — but it's more common than you'd think.
Modern nutrition science began in the 1910s as individual micronutrients began to be identified. The first vitamin to be chemically identified was thiamine in 1926, and vitamin C was identified as a protection against scurvy in 1932. [2] The role of vitamins in nutrition was studied in the following decades.
Scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, may be reemerging amid the cost of living crisis and the rise of weight loss surgery, doctors warn in a new study.. Scurvy is an easily treatable ...
To prevent scurvy during the 19th century, British sailors were issued a daily allowance of citrus, such as lemon, and later switched to lime. [12] The use of citrus was initially a closely guarded military secret , as scurvy was a common scourge of various national navies, and the ability to remain at sea for lengthy periods without ...
The history of the discovery of vitamin deficiencies progressed over centuries from observations that certain conditions – for example, scurvy – could be prevented or treated with certain foods having high content of a necessary vitamin, to the identification and description of specific molecules essential for life and health.
Yet such knowledge appears to have been repeatedly lost and then re-discovered. For example, the ancient Egyptians reportedly knew the symptoms of scurvy. Much later, in the 14th century, Crusaders sometimes used anti-scurvy measures – for example, ensuring that citrus fruits were planted on Mediterranean islands, for use on sea journeys ...