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Vitamin \(C\):
Vitamin \(C\) is also a water-soluble vitamin mainly found in fruits - citrus fruits such as oranges, gooseberries (Amla), lemon, strawberries, all kinds of berries. They are also found in foods sources like sprouts, green leafy vegetables, and other vegetables.
Source of vitamin C
It is necessary for the growth, repair and development of the body tissues. It plays a vital role in forming collagen, iron absorption, the immune system's functioning, maintenance of bones, teeth, and wound healing.
Vitamin C is also called ascorbic acid. Vitamin C deficiency symptoms include swollen and bleeding gums, joint and muscle pain, easy bleeding, delay in wound healing, deformities or malformed teeth and bones.
The deficiency of Vitamin C causes scurvy. Scurvy causes weakness, anaemia, gingivitis (disease of the gum).
Bleeding gums observed in Scurvy
Important!
Gooseberries contains \(20\) times the vitamin C content than that of oranges.
Who is James Lind?
James Lind is a physician born in Edinburgh in the year \(1716\). He is described as the father of naval medicine. He joined the Royal Navy as a surgeon. Many sailors of the Royal Navy suffered a strange disease.
James Lind
At that time, scurvy was killing thousands of people, and the disease was responsible for many deaths of sailors in the Royal Navy. Scurvy was a stereotypical disease that had caused weakness, easy bruising with skin haemorrhages, bleeding gums, and swollen legs.
The patients, when untreated, also died due to the disease. Lind was the first physician who had conducted a clinical trial for the treatment of scurvy.
He compared the effect of citrus fruits on the patients with scurvy against five other remedies - vinegar, cider, seawater, elixir vitriol (dilute sulphuric acid), and medicinal paste made of garlic, mustard seeds, dried radish root.
Lind had observed that the consumption of oranges and lemon recovered the condition of scurvy. There were sudden and visible good effects when using oranges and lemon. His clinical trial succeeded as oranges and lemon are citrus fruits that contained vitamin C.
James Lind is thus remembered as the physician who had helped to conquer the disease - Scurvy.
Reference:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_James_Lind,_1716-1794,_Physician_at_Haslar_Wellcome_M0003113.jpg
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