Timelines: 1795
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Treatise on the Scurvy
Limeys
The British Royal Navy makes consumption of lime juice mandatory, in order to the protect its crews from scurvy. Scurvy is a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency; symptoms include extreme lethargy, tender gums, loss of teeth, and black spots on the skin. The condition is well-known – scurvy has tormented sailors from antiquity. By the eighteenth century, mariners have recognized that ships obtaining frequent resupplies of fresh food, particularly citrus, had far fewer outbreaks of the ailment (although a precise biochemical explanation would not be developed until 1932). In 1753, Scottish physician James Lind of the British Royal Navy publishes a book entitled A Treatise on the Scurvy, in which he hypothesizes that the acidic juices of citrus fruit can treat and prevent the condition. Four decades pass before the Royal Navy adopts the measure and makes it compulsory, but when it does, the British become widely known for the practice, and the term “limey” spreads around the world as a derogatory nickname for persons of English origin.
James Lind
Swollen lips and gums - symptoms of scurvy