Scurvy has reappeared in Australia, according to results of a study published in the medical journal Diabetic Medicine. This disease due to a diet deficient in vitamin C can be cured as soon as a balanced diet rich in vitamin C.
Researchers at the Diabetes Research Center,obesity and Endocrinology at the Westmead Institute in Sydney, Australia, found several diabetic patients with wounds that did not heal.
Scurvy affects all social categories
Suspecting that these patients were affected by scurvy, they investigated the diet of the sick. Indeed, hematomas, hemorrhages of the skin and gums, joint pain, healing defects can be caused by deficiencies in vitamin C. Because this vitamin is essential for the production of collagen, an element necessary for the formation of connective tissue.
“When I asked them about their diet, one person ate very little or no fresh fruit or vegetables, the others ate vegetables but overcooked them, which destroys vitamin C,” she says. . “It shows that you can eat a lot of calories without consuming enough nutrients.”
In conclusion, 11 of the 12 patients were diagnosed with scurvy. Their illness was cured after a course of vitamin C. This small study teaches us that social origins do not seem to play a role in the prevalence of the disease. People with bad eating habits are found among all social classes. Health authorities are not used to investigating this disease which had disappeared from developed countries.
“These results suggest that despite the mass of information available on food, there are still plenty of people, from all backgrounds, for whom the message is not getting,” says Gunton. “The human body cannot synthesize vitamin C so we have to eat foods that contain it.”
The United Kingdom also affected by the disease
In October 2015, a study published by the National Health Service (NHS) found that malnutrition was back in the UK. She was involved in the reappearance of Victorian-era illnesses such as scurvy and tuberculosis.
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