Scurvy!

It can't be said that it is not famous.

This is a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, so it is also called vitamin C deficiency. However, vitamin C deficiency can not only cause scurvy, but also be associated with inflammation, arteriosclerosis, tumors and other diseases.

Historically, it has been a serious threat to human health.

Over the past few hundred years, it has become popular among seafarers, explorers and armies, especially among long-distance voyagers, so it is known as the "fear of sailors" and the "god of the sea".

The more explicit description of scurvy in ancient texts is in the records of the Crusades in the Middle Ages.

Some scholars date back to the time of Hipprates B.C., and it is claimed that traces of scurvy have also been found on the remains of primitive humans.

At the end of the fifteenth century, scurvy was also the reason why many seafarers were bedridden for a long time, until 1753, when James Lind, a Scottish naval doctor, discovered that the disease was related to diet, and found that drinking orange juice and lemon juice could treat and prevent scurvy, so that scurvy prevention and treatment were achieved.

This disease is actually very easy to prevent, as long as you eat vegetables and fruits regularly, you don't even need to deliberately supplement them.

However, if left untreated, it can lead to iron deficiency, from anemia to bleeding skin, loose teeth, personality changes, and finally death.

"So, scurvy is a disease that only seafarers who eat meat and no vegetables. But there is another phenomenon that has puzzled this scientist in modern times. ”

"That is, the Inuit people, who also eat only meat and no vegetables, how can they not have scurvy?"

Talent is out of town?

Or is there another way?

The curiosity of the audience was aroused, and many sailors couldn't help but sit up straight and listen to Bi Fang's explanation.

Bi Fang cut another salmon, took off its belly, stuffed it into his mouth with satisfaction, tasted it beautifully, then swallowed it, and finally sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to tell the reason leisurely.

"As I said just now, low temperature can also kill parasites, and as long as minus 20 degrees, in fact, this is just the normal temperature of the Arctic, although the relative temperature in the water is much higher, but it is not liked by parasites, but of course this is not absolute, low temperature insecticide is far less efficient than high temperature, but it can greatly reduce the chance of hitting."

"And most of the parasites that can survive in the Arctic are actually harmless to the human body, plus the Arctic is almost pollution-free, and the three are superimposed, even if it is a freshwater fish, it can be eaten raw, there is no need to be afraid."

"As for why it's necessary, it's actually eating raw meat, which can also supplement vitamin C, uh!"

Bi Fang hiccuped, he hadn't eaten meat for too long, and he ate too violently at once.

Patting his chest and taking another sip of water, Bi Fang said slowly: "Between 1906 and 1918, Vihjalmur Stefansson, an anthropologist and explorer at Harvard University, was Vihjalmur. ”

In order to make it easier for everyone to remember, Bi Fang translated Icelandic into English.

Vihjarmur visited the northern part of Canada three times, where he spent the winter with the local Inuit and ate and lived together.

"Due to geographical limitations, the Inuit can only eat meat and animal fats most of the time, such as birds, reindeer, seals, walruses, whales, etc., which provide them with all the nutrients for at least 10 months of the year, and in the summer, they are likely to eat some plant-based foods, such as berries, roots, etc."

"However, like the Inuit, Vikhjarmur did not suffer from scurvy because of such a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables."

"When he made his observations public, he was strongly criticized by some skeptics."

[Hey, I doubt it too]

[Doesn't look like a genetic problem]

[Raw meat can also supplement vitamin C? 】

Bi Fang took a sip of warm water, chewed another piece of raw meat, and continued.

"In order to verify again and investigate the principle behind it again, in 1928, Vihjarmur and his colleagues were admitted to Bellevue Hospital in New York, and under the strict control of the hospital and the supervision team, they started a 'diet experiment', that is, like the Inuit, to eat meat and animal fats all year round, and this insistence was one year."

"Before the trial began, many experts predicted that Vikhjarmur would eventually develop scurvy due to vitamin C deficiency...... Naturally, it is a big surprise. ”

At the end of the trial, Vikhjarmur was still healthy, and his physical condition improved to varying degrees, such as more agile thinking, more stable blood pressure, not to mention any scurvy, and he did not have any symptoms of vitamin deficiency. ”

If you lack vitamin C, you can indeed get scurvy

Scurvy was first discovered in 1536 by the French Brittany explorer Jacob, who was troubling people who were exploring the St. Lawrence River.

Jacob also had a detailed description of scurvy, and even if you look at it now, you can vaguely feel a little terrifying.

"Some people have lost all their strength and are unable to stand up...... Purple scars were also found on the skin of others, and then they began to appear on their ankles, knees, thighs, shoulders, etc., their mouths stinked, their gums gradually rotted, and the flesh on their bodies began to fall off, even at the base of their teeth, almost all of them fell out. ”

There is no doubt that humans cannot do without vitamin C, otherwise the consequences are serious, and the human body cannot synthesize vitamin C on its own, unlike cats and dogs, these animals can synthesize vitamin C on their own.

"About 60 million years ago, the ancestors of humans, great apes, lost an enzyme needed to synthesize vitamin C from glucose, called gulolactone oxidase, which is needed to synthesize vitamin C from glucose, and eventually lost the ability to make vitamin C."

"There is no doubt about Darwin's evolutionism that the roots are correct, but it does not mean that there are no problems, and it can even be said that the problems are big."

"The state of human beings at this time, in fact, is not necessarily the most adapted to the environment, there is a considerable part of the luck factor, so some non-fatal flaws will also exist, of course, this expansion is complicated, I will briefly mention it, not to repeat."

Bi Fang shook the kettle with his hand, returned to the topic, and directly said the reason.

"The end result is actually very simple, a high-sugar diet needs more vitamin C, and as long as you don't eat staple foods, the body's vitamin C needs will drop significantly."

"And there is actually vitamin C in meat, and the most important thing is that the vitamin C content in raw meat is much higher than that of cooked meat, because the heating process will cause some vitamin C oxidation and loss."

"The custom of the Inuit is to eat raw meat, as I said when I was in Mohe, and for this reason I have received a slightly contemptuous name, called Eskimos."

"Open source and throttle, scurvy will stay away from me."

Bi Fang took a bite of the fish and chewed it down.

Finally had a full meal.

------Off topic------

Scientists have found that more than 80% of body fat leaves the body through exhalation, making the lungs the main organ for us to lose weight. There is a fat in the human blood called triglycerides, which is made up of three atoms: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Releasing excess fat requires unlocking the atoms in the triglyceride molecule through a process called oxidation. By tracing the path of each atom in the human body, a team of scientists from the University of New South Wales in Australia found that when 10 kilograms of fat are oxidized, 8.4 kilograms of fat leaves the body in the form of carbon dioxide through the lungs.

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