John Winthrop describes the treatment of scurvy with lemon juice (1631)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: James Lind is often credited with discovering or proving that citrus fruits are effective in preventing and treating scurvy. However, reports highlighting the benefits of oranges appeared more than two centuries before Lind’s (1753) treatise. Oranges were already indicated for scurvy in accounts from Vasco da Gama’s first voyage, and similar suggestions were recorded by Ronsseus, Hawkins, Pyrard, Woodall, John Smith and many others before Lind’s treatise. In his journal, John Winthrop described that when a ship supplied juice of lemons in 1631, many patients suffering from scurvy recovered rapidly. The relevant passage from his journal is reproduced in this document.
Source: PubMed
Author: Hemilä, Harri
Institution: University of Helsinki
Language: English
Subfield: Nutrition and Dietetics
Field: Nursing
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3159405665
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