A fresh look at scurvy, beriberi and pellagra

Are they different 'diseases' caused by 'nutritional deficiencies'?

Scurvy

‘Scurvy’ is a ‘disease’ said to date back to antiquity. The ‘Ebers Papyrus’, apparently, provides the earliest mention: “the figure of the little man pointing to his mouth and the lips oozing blood indicated the bleeding gums of the disease”. Recently, we were told that archeologists found the remains of an Egyptian child, which, apparently, “may be the earliest case of the disease”.

Then, curiously, not much mention is made of ‘it’ until around the 15th / 16th century; “during the time of the large explorations between 16th and 18th centuries, there were numerous reports of the disease in the contemporary medical literature.”

What are the symptoms of ‘scurvy’?

Gum disease (‘gingivitis’) and tooth decay / loss is usually what first comes to mind. Other symptoms include skin haemorrhages, “large areas of reddish-blue to black bruising”, chest pain, blurred vision, light sensitivity, gastrointestinal bleeding, headaches and muscular weakness.

In some cases, ‘acute flaccid paralysis’ can occur – which interestingly, is said to be the distinguishing ‘characteristic’ of ‘polio’; “a four-year-old male child was reported with sudden inability to stand and walk of 10 days duration. Acute paralytic poliomyelitis was diagnosed … Reevaluation after a week showed swelling, thickening, and tenderness of left femur … X-ray showed features of scurvy. The child responded well to parenteral vitamin C therapy and resumed normal walking with in two weeks”.

Scurvy, it is said, is caused by ascorbic acid (vitamin C) deficiency. And this is why sailors were said to be particularly affected – fresh fruit and vegetables were not readily available.

If vitamin C deficiency is indeed the cause, then we might ask; why do inuits not get ‘scurvy’? According to some, this is because raw meat and fish contains significant amounts of vitamin C – although other sources appear to dispute this.

But assuming fresh fish is a good source of vitamin C, why would our sailors not be able to access this resource?

In this video, the narrator claims that the explorers of the time didn’t fish, for several reasons. The first is that they were, apparently, ‘afraid’ to eat fish. Sailor testimonies were collected and analysed by Spanish historian Pietro Martire d'Anghiera, who purportedly reported that “the consumption of fish caught in the open sea caused various gastroenterological and neurological disorders that could occur one to six hours after the meal. Even if the person ate small portions, they could experience stomach ache, headache, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhoea, numbness or tingling sensations, and in worse cases muscle paralysis, coma, and often even death.”

I couldn’t find the primary source for this material, but theses symptoms appear to match what we were told earlier about the child who was mistakenly diagnosed as a ‘polio’ patient.

We’re then told that this was because some of the fish were poisonous, but curiously,“neither the sailors, nor the locals could determine which fish could be dangerous to their health because it wasn’t an altogether inedible kind.” In other words, the fish themselves were not poisonous – but some had been exposed to a toxin.

He goes on to ask the question; “but how come fresh fish could become unfit for consumption?”

“There was no answer until the middle of the 20th century. In the 18th and 19th century, many cases of poisonings with similar symptoms were recorded in Cuba. The doctors suggested that the problems were caused by shellfish – ‘cigua’ in Spanish. And so, they caused the disease ‘ciguatera'. And in 1961, scientists at the university of Hawaii were finally able to identity the poison. They named it ‘ciguatoxin’.”

‘Ciguatoxin’ is apparently the “most frequently reported seafood-toxin illness in the world”. Interestingly, the symptoms of ‘ciguatoxin’ poisoning appear to mimic that of various other substances, including both arsenic, and organophosphates; “unless there is suspicion of arsenic ingestion, the diagnosis of arsenical neuropathy may be overlooked, and CFP may be wrongly diagnosed.”

Lastly, we’re told that fishing “interfered with the assigned combat missions” – fishing, essentially was too onerous in terms of time and effort – particularly, because the ships could cover a distance of 700 miles in a week, and could “easily reach their destination”. Indeed, it ‘only’ took Columbus 36 days to cross the Atlantic.

If this is indeed the case, how is it possible for a condition like ‘scurvy’ to develop in such a short period of time – given that we’re told that “scurvy is caused by not having enough vitamin C in your diet for at least 3 months”?

So, what else, besides diet, could have been affecting our sailors? The following clippings from the New York Times, gives pause for thought.

Source

Source

Arsenic, we’re told, has been used or a long time in the production of wine; it “was the most common form of pesticide until [World War II]”. And then interestingly, we also find that “in the early days of sailing ships, lime and later arsenic were used to coat ships' hulls, until the modern chemicals industry developed effective anti-fouling paints using metallic compounds.”

Going back to the symptoms – remember how it would appear that ‘scurvy’ can sometimes ‘mimic polio’? Well it turns out that the symptoms of arsenic poisoning sometimes ‘mimic’ those of ‘scurvy’; “higher level of arsenic exposure was positively associated with increased arsenical lesions of the gums and tongue.”

Even the “reddish-blue to black bruising” symptoms have been documented in cases of individuals exposed to arsenic, where no vitamin C deficiency was detected; “a case of acute purpura haemorrhagica developing after seven injections of neoarsphenamine is reported ... there is no deficiency of ascorbic acid.”

Credit: Wellcome Trust (https://wellcomecollection.org/works/jbptxrvq/items)

So why then, would vitamin C have anything to do with it? It would appear that there is “strong evidence” that shows that vitamin C and E provide protection against “hematotoxicity and hepatotoxicity in adult male rats caused by chronic arsenic exposure.”

This might then explain why some got ill, and others didn't – indeed, we are told here, that “delicacies like dried fruit were reserved for the top brass and would prove vital in preserving their health.”

Dried fruit contain high amounts of vitamin C, and the “top brass” would typically spend their time either on deck, or in their cabin – far away from the hull.

Beri-beri

Beri-beri is said to be caused by a thiamin (vitamin B1) deficiency (left). And once more, we find a curious similarity to ‘polio’ (right).

We are told that the “the first pandemic, induced by beriberi, was caused by the industrial revolution altering the nutritional composition of rice”, and that “the first substantial English account of beriberi was made in Ceylon in the late 1790s and early 1800s”.

It was also reported that it bore “many similarities” to “shipboard scurvy” – “the primary symptoms of beriberi, as Malcolmson understood them, included numbness, paralysis of the lower limbs, oedema and dropsy”. And once again, these seem to be the same symptoms as those described in cases of ‘polio’ and arsenic poisoning.

Regarding arsenic, one paper writes: “the cases of arsenical poisoning which occurred at Chester were seen by one of us (R.R.), who was so struck with the likeness of them to cases of beri-beri seen by him in the East ...”

Another one recounts the following: “Newall and Prytherch pointed out the similarity to beri-beri of the Chester cases of peripheral neuritis, and Reynolds demonstrated that the Manchester outbreak was due to chronic arsenical poisoning ...hence the probability is very strong that the Penang beri-beri is arsenical, especially when we know that the people there largely work in tin manufacturies and are brought closely into contact with arsenic.”

What then, does vitamin B1 have to do with anything? Apparently, “higher intakes of certain B vitamins may enhance the excretion of arsenic from the body”.

Pellagra

Pellagra is said to be caused by a lack of niacin (vitamin B3). Symptoms include inflamed skin, diarrhoea, dementia, and sores in the mouth. Apparently, this one is more recent; “first identified among Spanish peasants by Don Gaspar Casal in 1735”.

I then found a letter published in the BMJ in 1901, titled ‘Arsenic Poisoning and Pellagra’ where the author writes; “...it is improbable that such a poison alone could account for the disease, nevertheless acting in combination with arsenic and alcohol the summated effect might be a sufficient explanation.”

We then find that historically, ‘pellagra’ (like many other ‘diseases’) was ‘treated’ with – you guessed it – arsenic. The ‘side effects’ of this treatment are noteworthy; “the appearance around the neck of an herpetic eruption, profuse salivation, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, palpitation of the heart, syncope, burning in the pharynx and stomach, headache, great muscular weakness, and bronchitis.”

Looking for modern examples of ‘pellagra’, I found this case report – where they mention so-called ‘pellagra gloves’ (‘hyperkeratosis’) – which is also said to be caused by arsenic poisoning.

What then, is the relevance of vitamin B3? Well, apparently, it “enhances repair of arsenic and ultraviolet radiation-induced DNA damage in HaCaT keratinocytes”.

In summary

It would appear that these ‘diseases’ – allegedly different – are not entirely dissimilar. And the ‘nutritional deficiency’ story we've been told, seems to, once again, be based on flawed logic.

Any ‘nutritional deficiencies’ are likely to be the consequence of poisoning, and not the cause. These deficiencies then result in worse symptoms – to give one example; we find that in the case of vitamin E deficiency and lead poisoning; “they interact to produce an anemia in rats that is more severe than that caused by either treatment alone.”

Virtually everything we're told by the ‘medical establishment’ about ‘disease’ – appears to be aimed at preventing us from realising that these ‘diseases’ are not ‘distinct’, and seem to always be caused by poisoning of one kind or another – not ‘germs’ and not ‘nutritional deficiencies’.

Note

After I finished writing this article, someone sent me this article that deals with ‘scurvy’. The author makes similar observations to those I’ve made above, but provides some additional information that I think is worth reading.