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| Pawpaw and Guava |
When Europeans first began sea voyages in
the 15th century, a strange malady often sickened and killed crews.
The sailors lacked energy, bleeding gums, loose teeth, swelling of the limbs,
large purple marks on the skin (caused by bleeding into muscles), shortness of
breath, heart palpitations.
They
also developed jaundice (a yellowing of the skin and eyes), fever, convulsions,
and, sad to say, many of them died. Their disease was named scurvy, and it was caused
by the depletion of vitamin c from their limited diets aboard ship.
Vitamin
c is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning that it cannot be stored in the fat cells
of the body. It needs to be ingested every day. After about 30 days, any
vitamin C stored in the bodies because of their limited diets aboard ship.
Vitamin
c is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning that it cannot be stored in the fat cells
of the body. It needs to be ingested every day.
After about 30 days, any vitamin c stored in the body is used up. Fresh
foods such as fruits that contain vitamin c were not available to the sailors, as
the typical seaman’s diet consisted exclusively of cured, salted meat and hard
biscuits.
No
one, however, suspected that nutrition was the cause of scurvy. It was believed
to be an infection passed from person to person, and one from which almost no
on recovered. All of their bodies, it turned out.
Vitamin
c is essential to the production of collagen, the connective tissue that holds
together our skin, bones, muscles, organs, and nervous systems. It also helps
the body’s cells to use other essential vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin
c-rich foods include potatoes, pawpaw, peaches, guava, melon, spinach and
tomatoes.
These
foods are common ways that individuals introduce vitamin c into their regular
diets. Think about how to use more fresh fruits and vegetables in your meals to
benefit from some of the specific roles that vitamin c plays in developing a
healthy body and promoting a long and healthy life.
