Nutrivitality Immune Support is packed full of Vitamin C, but its relation to scurvy took some time to be discovered, we follow the story here below.
When the Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama set sail with 160 men to discover a new route to India in 1497, he did not know that his journey would lead to another important discovery: scurvy (severe deficiency of vitamin C). Scurvy is a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency.
Vitamin C is essential for may natural processes in the body one of which is collagen production. Without vitamin C collagen cannot be produced and tissues start to break down leading to the symptoms of scurvy. Our bodies cannot make vitamin C and as a result, it needs to be supplied through our diet.
On voyages on the open ocean, it was impossible to store fresh fruit and vegetables without them going bad and rotting, leaving the crew to go hungry. It is estimated that around 1 million men died at sea from scurvy between 1600 and 1800 from a disease whose cure was described early on by many maritime doctors.
The disease has been alluded to in many historical texts as far back as Hippocrates in the 5th century all the way to the crusades where the first comprehensive description of the disease was recorded. There are also legends of Christopher Columbus’s sailors dying of scurvy wishing to be put ashore on a tropical island. Upon foraging and eating the tropical fruit the sailors were cured and found alive and well months later on the return journey.
In the notes of the Portuguese writer Alvaro Velho on Vasco da Gama’s first journey to India, he describes the agony and pain that the crew members with scurvy suffered during their long voyage. At that time, scurvy was an unknown ailment and the symptoms experienced by the sailors were something of a mystery. The restorative effects of fresh fruit and vegetables were first published in 1636 by John Woodall dubbed the father of naval hygiene. It was over a hundred years later in 1747 that James Lind demonstrated that consumption of citrus fruit prevented and even cured scurvy, although he did not know why. Zip on another 40 years and the British Navy finally make lemon juice a requisite for all naval voyages.
Everything became clear in 1933 when Norman Haworth deduced the chemical structure of vitamin C. This showed that vitamin C is fundamental for our body and since the human body is not able to produce it, vitamin C has to be obtained through the diet.
Despite the fact that nowadays we have easy access to fruit and vegetables the nutritional intake from these is much less than before due to aggressive farming. This plus the tendency for microwaved and processed food with lower nutritional value means levels of scurvy are on the rise. A good balanced diet gives the average person enough vitamin C to ward of scurvy but there are also risk factors which reduce the amount of vitamin C or the body’s ability to absorb the vitamin C from food.
Find more about our vitamin C supplements and get your daily dose of essential vitamins.
Vitamini C ina uwezo mkubwa wa kuimarisha mfumo wa kinga, lakini uhusiano wake na ugonjwa wa scurvy ulichukua muda kugundua. Mnamo 1497, Vasco da Gama, Mreno, alisafiri na watu 160 kwenda India, lakini hakujua kwamba safari yake ingemwongoza kwenye ugonjwa mwingine muhimu: ugonjwa wa scurvy. Scurvy ni ugonjwa unaosababishwa na upungufu wa vitamini C. Vitamini C ni muhimu kwa ajili ya mchakato wa asili katika mwili, moja ambayo ni uzalishaji wa collagen. Bila vitamini C, collagen haiwezi kutokezwa na tishu huanza kuharibika na kusababisha dalili za scurvy. Mwili wetu hauwezi kutengeneza vitamini C na kwa hivyo inahitaji kupewa kupitia chakula chetu. Katika safari za baharini, ilikuwa vigumu kuhifadhi matunda na mboga safi bila kuharibika na kuoza, na hivyo kuwafanya wafanyakazi wa meli hao wafe njaa. Inakadiriwa kwamba karibu watu milioni moja walikufa baharini kutokana na ugonjwa wa scurvy kati ya 1600 na 1800 na ugonjwa ambao tiba yake ilielezwa mapema na madaktari wengi wa baharini. Ugonjwa huo umetajwa katika maandishi mengi ya kihistoria tangu Hippocrates katika karne ya 5 hadi safari za msalaba ambapo maelezo ya kwanza ya ugonjwa huo yaliandikwa. Pia kuna hekaya za mabaharia wa Christopher Columbus waliokufa kutokana na ugonjwa wa ugonjwa wa kuambukiza ambao walitaka kupelekwa kwenye kisiwa cha kitropiki. Baada ya kutafuta chakula na kula matunda ya kitropiki mabaharia walipona na kupatikana wakiwa hai na wenye afya nzuri miezi kadhaa baadaye katika safari ya kurudi. Katika maandishi yake ya kwanza ya safari ya kwanza ya Vasco da Gama kwenda India, mwandishi Mreno Alvaro Velho anaeleza jinsi wafanyakazi wa meli hiyo walivyoteseka na maumivu wakati wa safari yao ndefu. Wakati huo, ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kuambukizwa. "Mafaa ya matunda na mboga za majani yalitajwa kwa mara ya kwanza na John Woodall, ""Baba wa Usafi wa Bahari.""" Katika mwaka wa 1747, James Lind alionyesha kwamba kula matunda ya machungwa huzuia na hata huponya ugonjwa wa scurvy. Baada ya miaka 40 ya kuhifadhiwa, Jeshi la Wanamaji la Uingereza lilifanya maji ya limao kuwa mahitaji ya safari zote za baharini. Mwaka 1933 Norman Haworth alivumbua muundo wa kemikali ya vitamini C, na kugundua kwamba vitamini C ni muhimu kwa mwili wa binadamu, na kwa sababu mwili wa binadamu hauwezi kuzalisha, inapaswa kupatikana kupitia chakula. Ingawa leo tuna matunda na mboga nyingi, bado tuna chakula kidogo sana kutokana na kilimo. Hii pamoja na mwelekeo wa chakula cha microwave na kilichotengenezwa na thamani ya lishe ya chini inamaanisha viwango vya scurvy vinaongezeka. Chakula kizuri cha wastani cha vitamini C kinatoa vitamini C ya kutosha kwa mtu wa kawaida ili kuepuka ugonjwa wa scurvy, lakini kuna pia sababu za hatari ambazo hupunguza kiasi cha vitamini C au uwezo wa mwili wa kunyonya vitamini C kutoka kwa chakula. Kupata zaidi kuhusu vitamini C na kupata dozi yako ya kila siku ya vitamini muhimu.