Nutrition for scurvy

General description of the disease

 

Scurvy is a disease provoked by a chronic deficiency of vitamin C in the body. In the past, this disease was especially popular among sailors who had been sailing for a long time and did not have the opportunity to eat fruits and vegetables. However, cases of scurvy still occur today, although much less frequently. The disease can cause anemia, heart attack, death.

Functions of vitamin C:

  • Participates in the formation of collagen, which is indispensable for the health of the skin, blood vessels and bones, and also promotes wound healing;
  • It is an antioxidant that breaks down free radicals and thus protects body tissues;
  • It is indispensable for iron absorption;
  • It helps fight infections and supports the immune system.

Causes of scurvy:

This disease is caused by a lack of vitamin C in the body. This can be due to 2 reasons:

  • This vitamin does not enter the body with food at all;
  • Vitamin C comes in, but is not absorbed in the intestines;

In addition, scurvy can be caused by:

  1. 1 A diet with an excess of carbohydrates and a lack of animal fats;
  2. 2 The presence of acute infections;
  3. 3 Pathologies of the digestive system;
  4. 4 Unfavorable environmental conditions.

Scurvy symptoms:

  • General malaise, increased fatigue and lethargy;
  • Loss of appetite;
  • Nausea, diarrhea, fever;
  • Muscle and joint pain;
  • Pinpoint bruising near the hair roots;
  • In the later stages, the gums become inflamed, swell and bleed, and the teeth become loose;
  • Exophthalmos (bulging eyes) appears;
  • Bruises on the skin are fixed, and the skin itself becomes dry, flaky, brownish;
  • Hair also becomes dry, splits, breaks near the scalp;
  • Swelling appears as a result of bleeding in the joints and muscles;
  • In children and adolescents, bones stop growing prematurely.

Healthy foods for scurvy

Eating a nutritious diet with regular consumption of fruits, vegetables, berries and natural juices to replenish vitamin C reserves in the body is part of the treatment and prevention of scurvy. In case of anemia, doctors recommend consuming more vitamin B12 and foods containing iron.

 
  • With scurvy, it is important to use dill, parsley, sorrel, mountain ash, rutabagas, zucchini, melons, gooseberries, radishes, boiled potatoes, green onions, fresh tomatoes, cabbage, oranges, lemons, black currants, honeysuckle, sweet and hot peppers, kiwi, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, broccoli, strawberries, spinach, red cabbage, horseradish, since they are the main sources of vitamin C, the deficiency of which causes this disease. By the way, water extracts from rose hips and black currants also contain a large amount of vitamin C.
  • It is also important to consume the zest of lemons, oranges and grapefruits, along with the white part of their peel, cherries, apricots, buckwheat, rose hips, black currants, lettuce, black chokeberry, as they contribute to the intake of vitamin P into the body, without which vitamin C cannot be preserved.
  • It is useful to eat liver, octopus and crab meat, raw yolks, sour cream, as well as fermented milk products, mackerel, sardine, carp, sea bass, cod, pork, beef, lamb, rabbit, baker’s and brewer’s yeast, salads, green onions, sprouted wheat , seaweed, as they contain vitamin B12, which prevents anemia or helps to fight it if it occurs.
  • In no case should we forget about pork and beef liver, as well as about lentils, peas, buckwheat, barley, oatmeal, wheat, peanuts, corn, pine nuts, cashews, dogwood, pistachios, as they contain a large amount of iron , indispensable in the process of assimilating B vitamins, as well as, as a result, in the prevention of anemia.
  • It is important to eat apples, citrus fruits, tomatoes, green onions, cabbage, horseradish, currants, as they contain ascorbic acid, which is necessary for the prevention and treatment of scurvy.
  • With this disease, you need to eat pine nuts, almonds, liver, chicken eggs, processed cheese, cottage cheese, rose hips, spinach, goose meat, mackerel, some mushrooms (boletus, chanterelles, champignons, honey mushrooms, butter), since they contain riboflavin – vitamin B2. It also promotes the absorption of ascorbic acid.
  • It is also useful to use pistachios, walnuts, peanuts, cashews, pine nuts, pork, liver, lentils, oatmeal, wheat, millet, barley, buckwheat, pasta, corn, as they contain thiamine – vitamin B1. It plays an important role in the metabolic processes of the body, and also ensures the functioning of each of its cells.
  • Also, doctors advise to use processed cheese, seaweed, oysters, sweet potatoes, sour cream, broccoli and seaweed, eel meat, butter, liver, as they contain vitamin A, which helps to increase immunity and strengthen the body’s resistance to infections during this period.
  • It is important to eat processed cheese, feta cheese, almonds, peas, sour cream, cream, walnuts, mustard, hazelnuts, cottage cheese, beans, oatmeal, barley, as they contain calcium, which is part of the blood, and also normalizes the recovery processes in the body. … It also helps to strengthen the teeth that suffer from scurvy. With a lack of calcium and depletion of patients with scurvy, they are prescribed a blood transfusion every 2-3 days.

Folk remedies for scurvy

  1. 1 For the treatment and prevention of scurvy, the use of fresh rosehip berries, rosehip tea, and dried rosehip berries in powder helps.
  2. 2 For scurvy, it is useful to brew the needles of coniferous trees, for example, cedar, pine, and drink as tea.
  3. 3 Traditional medicine advises patients with scurvy to eat a large number of lemons in any form, even with a peel, which, by the way, is especially rich in vitamin C.
  4. 4 Also, with scurvy, it is advised to use common sorrel in any form.
  5. 5 People with scurvy need to consume any form of garlic.
  6. 6 Eating red and black currants also helps those with scurvy.
  7. 7 It is useful to use sour cherry, since it contains a huge amount of ascorbic acid. In addition, she is actively fighting atherosclerosis.
  8. 8 Also, adults are recommended to consume fish oil in 1 tbsp. l. 1-2 times a day (for children – 1 tsp. 3 times a day).

It is important to remember that foods containing vitamin C must not be boiled, as vitamin C decomposes during this time. Therefore, it is better to replace hot infusions from these products with cold ones (insist the products in cold water for 10-12 hours).

Dangerous and harmful foods for scurvy

  • It is necessary to exclude alcoholic beverages from your diet, as they destroy vitamin C, and also provoke the appearance of toxins in the body, thereby poisoning it.
  • It is not recommended to eat fried, as it contains carcinogens that also harm the body.
  • It is harmful to eat unpeeled roasted seeds, as they damage the enamel of the teeth, and also provoke the fragility of the outer shell of the tooth, which primarily suffer from scurvy.
  • You can’t eat baked goods and fast food, as they make the gums loose, and the tooth enamel is fragile and thin.
  • It is forbidden to use sugary carbonated drinks, as they destroy the enamel of the teeth.
  • It is not recommended to overuse sugar and oatmeal, as they interfere with the absorption of calcium.
  • It is not recommended to eat salty and spicy foods, as they disrupt the water-salt balance in the body.

Attention!

The administration is not responsible for any attempt to use the information provided, and does not guarantee that it will not harm you personally. The materials cannot be used to prescribe treatment and make a diagnosis. Always consult your specialist doctor!

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