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Scurvy

Sources: Papers On Health

Is a disease springing from disordered digestion, and caused

sometimes by partial starvation, but more frequently by a deficiency of

vegetable acid in the food. It often manifests itself in skin

eruptions, the skin peeling off in scales. To ward off or cure this

disease, fresh food should always be used, and salted or tinned foods

avoided. Especially should abundance of green vegetables and fruit be

used, and where such cannot be obtained in sufficient quantity, lemon

juice is valuable. Too much exposure, fatigue, and impure air, aided by

a wrong diet, are the causes that formerly made scurvy so prevalent in

the navy. It has almost disappeared since a regular allowance of

vegetable acid has been served out.



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