Scurvy is the deficiency of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) which has been known since the times of ancient Egypt and ancient Greek. In the 15th to 18th centuries, the deficiency was mostly associated with sailors who lacked fruits with vitamin C following long voyages they had to take at sea. However, scurvy is no longer common in the modern world and the fact that it is rare could be a dangerous phenomenon.
Mostly, when levels for most vitamins go low, you feel the effect in your body immediately. For instance, with low vitamin B12, you would feel fatigued beyond reasonable levels. However, the effects of vitamin C deficiency is felt in two to three months when the damage has already been done thus making the deficiency quite dangerous. Therefore, before you consider taking vitamin C supplements you would have suffered the pain of scurvy.
What you Need to Know About Scurvy
As mentioned above, scurvy is caused by the lack of vitamin C or ascorbic acid in your body. The deficiency would cause you to feel weak, become anaemic due to excessive bleeding, develop gum disease as well as skin complications. The phenomenon is apparent because vitamin C is required in the formation of collagen. Collagen is important in the formation of connective tissues essential for support and structure in the body. The issue of support structure extends to blood vessels hence the reason why vitamin C deficiency leads to excessive bleeding.
However, with sufficient vitamin C levels in your body, you are likely to reap numerous health benefits. The benefits range from boosting the immune system to fight against unwanted pathogens causing diseases and enhances the absorption of iron in the body. To enjoy the benefits of vitamin C, you can take vitamin C supplements and dissuade yourself from reaching the scurvy level as it is also painful.
How Scurvy Is Treated
Scurvy is a deficiency that can simply be treated by vitamin C supplements and you begin noticing improvements on the same day. A person with scurvy is recommended to begin taking 1 – 2 grams of vitamin C supplements per day for two to three days then reduce the dose to 500mg for the next seven days. After the seven days, they are required to take 100mg for one to three months depending on the response to supplements.
Most patients have witnessed that after 24 hours of treatment commencement they have felt their energy levels improve, receding pain, improved lethargy, anorexia and confusion. The bleeding and bruising will start to resolve within two weeks of treatment commencement.
Better Prevention than Cure
You are better off preventing scurvy than having to undergo the long process of correcting the deficiency. Preventing the deficiency is effective by taking vitamin C supplements from a reputable company. In a scenario where you are taking other supplements, you then need to consider a multivitamin. Multivitamins combine vitamins and minerals in one pill alleviating you from the cumbersomeness of swallowing several pills.
The best vitamin C supplements or multivitamins can be found at Body by Nature: a reputable supplement organization based in the UK.