Fwd: The History of Vitamins

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The History of Vitamins

 

http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/history/vitamins.htm

 

excerpt

 

From Dr Mark R. Anderson’s article A Short History of Scurvy, I learned of a

legend involving the voyages of Christopher Columbus. It seems some Portuguese

sailors had come down with scurvy and asked to be dropped off at one of the

nearby islands. They preferred to die there rather than on board where they

would be fish food. On the return trip months later, the crew were all shocked

and surprised to see the men, who everyone thought were dead, waving to them

from the shores, alive and healthy. The island was named Curacao, meaning Cure.

It is abundant with fresh fruit.

Native Americans had concocted the first cure for scurvy. They drank a tea

consisting of pine bark and needles. Jacques Cartier, a French explorer who had

lost 25 members of his crew before the natives taught him this remedy, brought

this marvelous cure back to France in 1536 where it was immediately dismissed by

the medical profession who knew better than a bunch of wild savages.

Dr Anderson’s article points out that " as early as 1593, during a voyage to

the South Pacific, Sir Richard Hawkins recommended the following treatment for

scurvy: ‘That which I have seen most fruitfull for this sicknesse, is sower

[sour] oranges and lemmons.’ "

One of the most interesting bits of information ever laid before my eyes is an

unintentional controlled study performed in 1601 by Captain James Lancaster. He

captained one ship among a fleet that set sail in late April, and by the time

they had arrived at their destination in September of that same year, the other

ships had been so devastated by scurvy that Lancaster’s men, healthy and whole,

had to assist the other ships into the harbor. Lancaster sent a report to the

Admiralty explaining that he had brought on board bottles of lemon juice and

every man took three spoonfuls each morning.