Scurvy is a disease. If you do not eat enough vitamin C you could get scurvy. Humans need vitamin C to make collagen. Vitamin C is also called ascorbic acid.

People with scurvy will have: –spots on the skin, –spongy gums, and –bleeding from the nose. The simple signs of scurvy are: –spots appearing mostly on the thighs and legs, –pale skin, –feeling depressed, and –may not be able to move. Advanced scurvy will lead to wounds oozing pus and teeth falling out.

Before fridges were invented, sailors, pirates and anyone aboard a ship for a long time would get scurvy. This is because vitamin C is found in fruit and vegetables which go rotten quickly. In 1536, the French explorer Jacques Cartier was exploring the St Lawrence River in Canada. He used the knowledge of the local natives‘ to save his men who were dying of scurvy. He boiled the needles of the Eastern White Cedar tree to make a tea. Later is was found this had 50 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams, a lot of vitamin C. In 1753, a Scottish surgeon, James Lind of the British Royal Navy was the first person to show that you could use citrus fruits to cure scurvy.

Most animals do not get scurvy because they can make their own vitamin C. Humans, monkeys, guinea pigs, and a few other species can not make their own Vitamin C and have to get it from their food. Vitamin C can be found in plants, especially citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits) which have a lot of the vitamin, and also in tomatoes, potatoes, cabbages, and green peppers which have a good amount of the vitamin.