LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Vitamin C: Scurvy
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Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is water-soluble and easily destroyed. It is essential in wound healing and in the formation of collagen, a protein important in the formation of healthy skin, tendons, bones, and supportive tissues. Deficiency results in defective collagen formation and is marked by joint pains, irritability, growth retardation, anemia, shortness of breath, and increased susceptibility to infection. Scurvy is the classic disease related to deficiency. Symptoms peculiar to infantile scurvy include swelling of the lower extremities, pain upon flexing them, and bone lesions. Excessive ascorbic-acid intake can cause kidney stones, gastrointestinal disturbances, and red-blood-cell destructionVitamin C
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Vitamin C has a long history. It was used as a cure for scurvy. Scurvy is a disease that causes open sores in the mouth, loosening of teeth, and soft gums. In the 1700s, it was discovered that sailors who often consumed lime juice did not get scurvy. Sailors who did not consume lime juice had a 50 percent chance of dying from scurvy. It was not until 200 years later that vitamin C was found to prevent the disease.
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Vitamin C is a vitamin. It is ... called ascorbic acid. It dissolves in water. It is found in fresh fruits and berries and green vegetables. Vitamin C helps wounds heal. Lack of vitamin C can cause a sickness called scurvy, where the gums in the mouth bleed easily and wounds wont heal.
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Vitamin C or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for higher primates, and a small number of other species. The presence of ascorbate is required for a range of essential metabolic reactions in all animals and plants. It is made internally by almost all organisms, humans being one notable exception. It is widely known as the vitamin whose deficiency causes scurvy in humans.[1][2][3] It is ... widely used as a food additive.
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Famous in the history of the sea is the disease called scurvy which occurred when the seamen had no vitamin C in their diet. Scurvy symptoms include bleeding and inflamed gums, loose teeth, poor wound healing, purplish spots called petechiae on the skin, easy bruising, bumps of coiled hair on the arms and legs, pain in the joints, muscle wasting and general deterioration. It was found that the inclusion of citrus fruits in the diets of the sailors prevented the disease by supplying vitamin C. Scottish physician James Lind is credited with advising the British Navy in 1753 to carry fresh vegetables and fruits onboard to prevent scurvy. Acting on his advice some forty years later the British Navy carried lime juice on long sea journeys, earning the nickname "limeys" for the British sailors. Since vitamin C is readily available in the diet, scurvy is now rare except in alcoholics who receive their entire calorie intake from alcohol.
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The chances of getting scurvy today are all but nonexistent, because just 10 mg of vitamin C a day prevents this disease. Less than 50 mg a day... can result in an increased risk of heart attack, cataracts, and a reduced life span.
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