From hereAccording to Health Canada’s food and nutrition guidelines, the recommended requirement of vitamin C is between 75 and 90 mg per day. Clinical manifestations of scurvy can be seen within 8 to 12 weeks of irregular or inadequate intake. Presentation can vary by individual. Early stages are often characterized by malaise, fatigue, and lethargy. One to 3 months of inadequate intake can lead to anemia, myalgia, bone pain, easy bruising, swelling, petechiae, perifollicular hemorrhages, corkscrew hairs, gum disease, poor wound healing, mood changes, and depression. Perifollicular hemorrhages and easy bruising are often first seen in the lower extremities, as capillary fragility leads to an inability to withstand hydrostatic pressure. Late stages of scurvy are more severe and life threatening; common manifestations include generalized edema, severe jaundice, hemolysis, acute spontaneous bleeding, neuropathy, fever, convulsions, and death
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Cecil “The Straight Dope” Adams, answering the question “can man live by bread alone?”, points out that bread lacks vitamin C, so scurvy would be the most significant problem. He estimates that if you drink water along with the bread, then the scurvy will kill you after about two years:
After about six weeks on a bread-only diet the level of ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, in your body will drop to zero. The early signs of scurvy are fatigue, loss of appetite... and aching bones and joints. Then your gums will begin to bleed and your teeth start to wiggle. Without ascorbic acid, a protein called collagen that holds the body together will stop doing its job. Look for hemorrhaging under the skin, with anemia resulting. Your hair will begin to split and coil and bury itself in its follicles. The nice thing about scurvy is that vitamin C can reverse it at any point, but we're not going to allow any backsliding here. The preterminal signs are vomiting and swooning blood pressure. You will be weak by now, collapsing on so many fronts and so
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I recently read this post, which goes into some detail about changes in what people thought caused scurvy and how it was treated over the course of the 18th and into the 19th century while describing how it affected polar exploration. Also, describes and quotes primary sources on the progress of the disease. Really interesting! http://idlewords.com/2010/03/scott_and_scurvy.htm
You might find use for an ironic fact: that the juice of the lime, which became an official ration issue in the Royal Navy in 1795, actually contains less vitamin C than just about any other citrus fruit.
Sir Gilbert Blane's experiments had finally proved the efficacy of lemon juice against scurvy. But in Britain lemons were expensive, as they had to be imported from Mediterranean countries; whereas limes, the product of Britain's West Indian colonies, were cheap. The Admiralty assumed that one citrus fruit was as good as another, and opted for lime juice, unaware that its vitamin C content was not much more than half that of lemon!
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I have a Convenient Plot Point™ in mind for why only one character will have scurvy, have no fear.
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After about six weeks on a bread-only diet the level of ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, in your body will drop to zero. The early signs of scurvy are fatigue, loss of appetite... and aching bones and joints. Then your gums will begin to bleed and your teeth start to wiggle. Without ascorbic acid, a protein called collagen that holds the body together will stop doing its job. Look for hemorrhaging under the skin, with anemia resulting. Your hair will begin to split and coil and bury itself in its follicles. The nice thing about scurvy is that vitamin C can reverse it at any point, but we're not going to allow any backsliding here. The preterminal signs are vomiting and swooning blood pressure. You will be weak by now, collapsing on so many fronts and so ( ... )
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Thanks for the details!
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http://idlewords.com/2010/03/scott_and_scurvy.htm
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Sir Gilbert Blane's experiments had finally proved the efficacy of lemon juice against scurvy. But in Britain lemons were expensive, as they had to be imported from Mediterranean countries; whereas limes, the product of Britain's West Indian colonies, were cheap. The Admiralty assumed that one citrus fruit was as good as another, and opted for lime juice, unaware that its vitamin C content was not much more than half that of lemon!
http://www.naturalhub.com/natural_food_guide_fruit_vitamin_c.htm
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