More on scurvy; Or why you should eat an orange

I don't know why this is but every Canadian I know has vivid memories of learning about scurvy in elementary school. Usually it was incorporated into units about explorers where we learned two things. One: there were Coureurs de Bois (which, as we all memorized, means "runners of the woods"); two, that explorers got scurvy because they didn't eat oranges.
Many people I know remember quivering in their tiny desk as their teacher described in freakish detail how scurvy made explorers' teeth fall out, their gums bleed and their skin get all icky. Some kids, like me, made a life-long mental note right then and there to eat a lot of oranges. Some kids, like me, have also made a lot of scurvy jokes over the years. Just last week I declared, "I must procure some oranges so as to prevent scurvy. One must be ever vigilant about scurvy, you know." Imagine then my amusement to find an a nifty write-up about scurvy in today's paper. In case you aren't Canadian or missed that particular day of class, here's what you need to know about scurvy.

"Winter can be associated with a decreased vitamin intake because of a drop in the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables available during that season.
Some notes:Scurvy, an ailment caused by a lack of vitamin C, was common onboard 15th-century exploration ships. By 1519-22, when Magellan circumnavigated the globe, 90 per cent of his Portuguese crew did not survive because of scurvy.

Also by the 16th century, fresh food was known to be a preventive and remedy for scurvy.

The great British navigator Captain James Cook (1728-79) was the first naval officer to provide fresh fruit and vegetables, gathered whenever possible on his voyages of discovery. He did not lose a single man to scurvy.

By 1793, the British Navy began the compulsory issue of lemon juice, as fresh citrus fruit had been found to be a successful cure for scurvy.

In his 1987 book Plagues & Poxes: The Rise and Fall of Epidemic Disease, Alfred Jay Bollet wrote that many American colonists developed scurvy because they didn't get enough vitamin C during the winter. This vitamin deficiency causes fatigue, general weakness, anemia, loose teeth, gum disease and bleeding near the surface of the skin. According to Dr. Bollet, scurvy often surfaced in the late winter or early spring, after stored vegetables and fruits were finished and before new crops began producing. "The timing of the usual early symptoms of scurvy is thought to have led to the term 'spring fever,' " he wrote.

Sources: The Globe and Mail who quote The (Quincy, Mass.) Patriot Ledger, Manawatu (N.Z.) Standard, news services"