The following quoted excerpts from the Software Toolworks Multimedia Encyclopedia regarding scurvy illustrate how fast man reacted to the first recognized nutritional deficiency disease. From our perspective today we can only assume that folks of that era must of been very ignorant. But actually they were no different than folks are today in what we call the “Information Age.”
The modern-day fatty acid imbalance of the American diet is a nutritional deficiency disease that will go down in history as one of the worst (most costly) known to man. Some American beef producers want to do something about it. But even after informing the grocery industry's meat buyers about the health problems with grain-fed beef, those major retailers say they are "not interested." They say they “don't want to mess with it.” They have “too many other meat programs.” They just “don't have the real estate” to display it. (Of course, their customer bases don't have a clue about it either.)
You be the judge. What kind of people would knowingly sell you a defective product?
This is about Scurvy:
Scurvy is a disease caused by dietary deficiency of ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. Humans, other primates, and a very few other mammals are susceptible to scurvy because they lack an enzyme required for the synthesis of ascorbic acid. The disease is characterized by fragility in capillaries, resulting in subcutaneous bleeding, degeneration of cartilage, loosening of teeth, and joint and bone pain.
This is about Capt. Cook whose first voyage left on August 26, 1768:
Secret instructions made clear that Cook also was to search for terra australis incognita, the "unknown southern land." Cook and the Endeavour left Plymouth on Aug. 26, 1768, carrying in addition to the crew an astronomer, two botanists--Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander--and artists.
The Endeavour traveled by way of the Madeira, Canary, and Cape Verde islands and Rio de Janeiro and rounded Cape Horn into the Pacific. Cook carried good provisions and citrus products and thus avoided the plague of scurvy. They reached Tahiti in April 1769. During their 3 months on the island, the scientists examined it thoroughly and observed the transit of Venus on June 3. They sailed west with a Tahitian guide through the Society Islands and then southward, finally reaching land on Oct. 7, 1769.
This illustrates how fast the British Royal Navy was at adopting the solution to the health scourge of the high seas:
Probably the first deficiency disease to be recognized was Scurvy, and as early as 1720 fresh vegetables or fruit were found to cure the disease. James Lind, a physician in the British navy, demonstrated in 1757 that consumption of oranges and lemons could prevent the disease. As a result of his work, and the scurvy-free voyages of Captain James Cook, who adopted his principles, the British navy in 1804 made it compulsory to issue a ration of lemons or limes to sailors, who were from then on nicknamed "limeys."
How long will it take for the dietary information on the essential fatty acids to sink in? Will it take 84 years?
Are there no leaders with principle in our country? Obviously there is basically no leadership in proper nutrition right down to the elementary school level and/or even your local church. So you'll have to take matters into your own hands to avoid today's modern nutritional deficiencies that are created by our concocted foods.
Before closing I must add that if one eats a 100%, raw, grass-fed meat diet they will get 100% of their body's nutrient needs in perfect balance. That means they will even get the vitamin C they need to avoid scurvy. That's why some folks call scurvy the civilization disease.
Ted Slanker
Slanker Grass-Fed Meat
https://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com