Prompt Cast
The History and Treatment of Scurvy
TLDR Scurvy is a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C, which can lead to symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, bleeding gums, and even death. The disease was a major problem for sailors in the past, but it was eventually discovered that citrus fruits could cure scurvy.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Scurvy is a disease that occurs when you don't get enough vitamin C for a long period of time, and it takes about two to three months for the effects to set in.
02:25
Humans, along with primates, guinea pigs, and fruit bats, lost the ability to produce their own vitamin C due to a mutation in the gulo gene, which is why we have to ingest it from other sources.
04:44
If you don't get enough vitamin C, your body won't be able to synthesize collagen, which is important for various bodily functions, and if your vitamin C stores drop below 300 milligrams, scurvy can start to occur, causing symptoms like weakness, fatigue, and weight loss.
06:51
Symptoms of scurvy include bleeding and swollen gums, loose teeth, joint and muscle pain, slow healing of wounds, brittle bones, and eventually, death from blood vessel failure.
09:10
Between the 15th and 18th centuries, scurvy was the leading cause of death among sailors, with around two million sailors dying from the disease, which caused inflamed and swollen gums that would grow over the teeth, leading to starvation.
11:22
James Lynn conducted the first controlled experiment in 1747 that showed citrus can cure scurvy, which is still a treatable disease today with the addition of vitamin C.
13:34
Scurvy was a treatable disease before James Lynn's discovery, and the British sailors were referred to as "limies" because they were given lime juice to combat scurvy.
Categories:
Society & Culture
