Naked Science Forum

On the Lighter Side => Famous Scientists, Doctors and Inventors => Topic started by: thedoc on 30/09/2016 16:49:53

Title: Who discovered the cure for scurvy?
Post by: thedoc on 30/09/2016 16:49:53
Of all the slang names for the British, none is more iconic than 'Limey'. While the the term provokes majestic images of the Golden Age of Sail, scurvy cost countless sailors and seamen their lives. The results of James Lind's work in 1747 led to a cure. Yet in Cherry-Garrard's account of Scott's 1911 expedition to the South Pole, he writes: "There was little scurvy in Nelson’s days; but the reason is not clear" So why did Lind's results get forgotten?


Read the article (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/articles/article/forgotten-knowledge/) then tell us what you think...
Title: Who discovered the cure for scurvy?
Post by: cheryl j on 29/10/2011 05:32:51
I wanted to comment on the scurvy topic but its locked. The reason Eskimos did not get it is because they ate raw or minimally cooked meat, which contains vitamin C.
Title: Re: Who discovered the cure for scurvy?
Post by: menageriemanor on 20/02/2013 02:36:38
That first comment saying the reasons why scurvy in Nelson's day was unclear has stumped me.  Captain Cook was, I read somewhere, famed for keeping his crew healthy and was particular about crew access to citrus.  If he had been convinced, even as a Lt, and had the results,  surely people wanting crew healthy would have looked at what he was doing, more evidence of no scurvy, repeated as nauseum...  more evidence.

Is it really implied that in 1911, it was still an open question?  Even if the exact reason why wasn't understood, the regular citrus/fruit eating must have been known to ward off scurvy.  Citrus just keeps better without refridgeration.
Title: None
Post by: dani on 12/07/2013 10:03:40
In my research in nutrition, I thought it was fermented foods along with citrus that cured scurvy. Fermented foods are very high in vit C & store well in the hulls of ships- better than fresh citrus. Anyone else come across this info in their reading?