Without vitamin C, the body literally can't hold itself together

Scurvy looks like a curse - gums swell and bleed, teeth loosen, old wounds reopen, and bruises bloom under the skin. The cause is mundane: a sustained lack of one nutrient, vitamin C (ascorbic acid).

Vitamin C is essential because it powers the manufacture of collagen, the fibrous protein that forms the scaffolding of skin, blood vessels, gums, and connective tissue. Without enough of it, the body keeps replacing worn-out collagen with a defective version, and tissues that depend on that scaffolding slowly come apart.

Vitamin C is important in the formation of collagen.

The disease haunted the age of sail. From the late 15th century, scurvy became the leading cause of death on long voyages, killing more sailors than storms or battle. The remedy turned out to be ordinary fresh fruit and vegetables - and eventually the citrus ration that earned British sailors the nickname “limeys.”