International Scurvy Awareness Day

It is said that May 2nd every year is International Scurvy Awareness Day.

You will be forgiven if you let that happen to you. This is not the day most celebrated or known on the long list of "National Days" that are now all too common on the calendar. And we're glad that didn't happen. There are many other diseases that need more attention and awareness than scurvy, a disease that for most of the world is not a big deal.

Some important information about Scurvy

Scurvy is a disease that occurs due to a lack of vitamin C in your diet.

Vitamin C, chemically known as ascorbic acid, plays an important role in the body's production of collagen. Collagen is a protein found in the bones, blood vessels, and other tissues of the body.

Humans cannot synthesize vitamin C on their own and a deficiency of Vitamin C will cause scurvy.

If the body does not get enough vitamin C, it cannot produce collagen, leading to the breakdown of tissues in the body. Vitamin C also helps with iron absorption. Iron deficiency leads to anemia. It also controls many other important functions such as body growth, cell activity, and the formation of hormones and tissues.

Some other factors that contribute to the development of scurvy are drug or alcohol dependence, mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, nausea, unhealthy diet, anorexia, smoking, pregnancy and lactation.

The symptoms of scurvy were first recorded by the ancient Egyptians, and throughout human history, the disease has been identified with a cure — eat more fruits and vegetables. As sailors began to circumnavigate the globe, it was a constant threat because it was difficult to keep a steady supply of fresh food on long voyages. Some historians have estimated that about 2 million sailors died during the Age of Discovery (1500-1800). The British Royal Navy began to prescribe daily servings of lemonade to members of the navy in the 1800s. They would mix it with their rum or beer and call it "grog." American sailors began to refer to British sailors as "Limeys" in a derogatory fashion, and it was a long time before the term began to be used for all Britons.

History of International Scurvy Awareness Day

In the USDA database, there are 276 fruits and vegetables listed with more Vitamin C than lemons, which contain only 29mg per 100g of fruit. For our list, we've chosen some of the more commonly eaten foods. Have you asked yourself that why kiwis are yellow and not green? Good question, but we chose the higher of the two to give our list variety. The green kiwi fruit is quite high on the list but it has 10mg less Vitamin C than its golden sibling. Likewise for sweet peppers, yellow peppers beat its red and green cousins ​​essentially with almost twice as much Vitamin C as green peppers and 1 ½ times as much as red.

And at the top of the USDA list are all sorts of… ah… chili! But strangely, green hot peppers tend to contain more C than their red parts. Sorry Red Hot Chili Peppers (the band) but just plain old green hot peppers knocks you out. But both are excellent sources of nutrients with the green containing 242 mg and the red 143.

Although we realized the significant of vitamin C or scurvy, the origin and the history of International Scurvy Awareness Day is unknown.

How to celebrate International Scurvy Awareness Day

The important thing is to provide Vitamin C for your body. Vitamin C supplementation is necessary to prevent scurvy and lead a healthy lifestyle. Below is the amount of vitamin C that a person must consume each day.

For men over 18 years old is 90 mg of vitamin C per day; for women over 18, it is 75 milligrams per day; for pregnant women over 18 years old is 85 mg per day; and for breastfeeding women over 18, it's 120 milligrams per day.

In fact, fruits and vegetables are chosen as the best sources of vitamin C in nature.

For example, oranges, kiwis, grapes, lemons, strawberries, sprouts, tomatoes, asparagus and cabbage contain vitamin C. These fruits and vegetables should be eaten raw, as cooking can destroy the nutrients and their nourishment. If you like it cooked, steam the vegetables instead of boiling them.