title: Scurvy: old disease--new insight.
abstract: Scurvy was once the number one killer of seafarers on long voyages. One early theory with widespread acceptance was that rancid fat caused scurvy. I propose to show that rancid fat did, indeed, predispose seafarers to scurvy. I propose to show that Captain Cook's successful voyages in the latter half of the eighteenth century were in part due to removal of rancid fat from the diet of his crew and in part due to dietary anti-scorbutic factors.
mesh_terms: D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008054:Lipid Peroxides / Q000009:adverse effects; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D012614:Scurvy / Q000209:etiology*
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D008054:Lipid Peroxides