All About 'Vitamin C' and 'Scurvy'

What causes scurvy?
By Biology Decoded Team

We may dislike eating our veggies, but do you know that veggies contains umpteen amount of
vitamins, especially, Vitamin C? Not only is it present in fruits and vegetables but also, in meat
that we eat. The reason why our bodies can’t synthesize Vitamin C is due to the lack of an enzyme that catalyzes intermediate metabolites into Vitamin C. Most mammals have enzymes that produce Vitamin C but humans cannot because, as time passed, mutations were accumulated on the gene of the enzyme leading to loss of enzyme.

Most of us may think of Vitamin C as Citric acid, but actually, it is not. Vitamin C is actually,
Ascorbic acid. The difference between them is that Citric acid is generated during cellular
respiration of mammals, including humans. Ascorbic acid is not synthesized in humans.
Vitamin C acts as a coupling factor for an enzyme that synthesize a component of extracellular
matrix, collagen. The incorporation of Ascorbic acid with enzyme, adds a hydroxyl group on
proline residue in collagen. This reaction generates hydroxyproline, which stabilizes the structure of collagen.

The deficiency of Vitamin C can increase the risk of certain diseases, such as stroke. So what is
scurvy? Scurvy is a condition specific to a deficiency of Ascorbic acid. The lack of Vitamin C
destabilizes the structure of collagen and affects integrity of tissue. Symptoms include bleeding
gums, tooth decay, rough skin, and loss of integrity of microvessels. Symptoms of scurvy
appear within a month if the deficiency is continuous.

Did you know one of the reasons that killed the pirates of the 18th century was not bullets but
scurvy? Yes, you heard that right. Pirates could not rely on the Food Pyramid to help them get
their required fruits and veggies and as a result, they were plagued with scurvy. Pirates had
bleeding gums, their teeth fell out, bones atrophied... it was a slow death, say historians. Eating
citrus fruit would cure them.

Currently, we rarely hear of scurvy but if we observe in developing countries, it still exists.
Extensive cooking of veggies and meat destroys Vitamin C and thereby, we barely absorb
Vitamin C upon consumption.

Now you know, why it is important to eat our greens, while they are still green.

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Timestamp:

00:00 Vitamin C
00:24 Why human can't synthesize Vitamin C?
00:51 The role of Vitamin C in the body
01:16 Vitamin C deficiency
01:22 Scurvy
01:47 Scurvy and pirates
02:16 Scurvy today and how to treat it

[CoriLane]

Who remembers the episode of spongbob were a bunch of pirates were singing about scurvy?

[kurotsuke]

You guys should have a logo worthy of your animations design

[omegamale]

Full--blown scurvy may be uncommon now in developed countries but most people don't get nearly enough vitamin C needed for optimal health.

[deepanshug]

James lind, while travelling in a ship in 1748 conclusively show that Scurvy can be prevented by the use of fresh citrus fruits.

[quezbeats]

sound designer went crazy on this one lol

[thedebatehitman]

I came down with scurvy this Thanksgiving upon realizing that my wife didn’t make Stove Top stuffing.

Works every time.

[GraveXSensei]

Eat your green, while its still green? HERESY !!! 💀💀💀

[azaramoon]

i had scurvy and ricketts as a child, mildly, but enough to make me feel ill and stunt my growth. my mother had no knowledge about nutritin., and i was constantly ill in hospital. it said in mnotes ---- failure to thrive. what can be done to educate parents better ?

[kongab]

Im still mostly avoiding the greens, but im happy with the fruits. Orange VC for life.

[Cruel_and_Savage]

I'm listening to some sea shanties and just suddenly being curious what scurvy really is

[saba]

Barakallahu feek u guyz are doing a great job ❤☺

[emmaphant]

What about people who have been living on the carnivore diet for 15 years with no side effects?

[razadaza]

Can you actually show some evidence about the bioavailability of vit c from fruits and veges? Also what DID the sailors actually eat?

[AHmedATef]

My first time here. I really love this video 😍. Thank you

[Matsuri_haha]

Can I borrow this for a school project?

[ludonymous]

Scurvy is a seriously gruesome disease, hands down.

[drjamalq]

thnx ima use this video in my project

[jaketraicoff]

Maybe that's why rum was so popular among Pirates to numb the pain in their teeth

[jonmantooth]

i have scurvy right now and its not fun

[jessefram]

Kurzgesegat uses the same animation with birds lol.