Introduction
Here is a disease you may have heard about in history books. It is called scurvy.
First, you feel tired and weak. Your gums start to bleed. Old wounds open up again. Your joints ache. You get bruises from the slightest touch. Your teeth fall out. And finally, you die.
For centuries, scurvy killed more sailors than war, shipwrecks, and storms combined. In the 16th century, a Portuguese explorer lost 116 of his 170 men to scurvy. In the 18th century, British naval commander Lord Anson set out with 1,855 men – only 188 survived. The rest died of scurvy.
No one knew why.
What Causes Scurvy? The Sailor’s Disease
Most doctors thought scurvy was caused by bad air, cold weather, or some kind of poison. But one man thought differently.
In 1747, a British naval surgeon named James Lind decided to test an idea. He took 12 sailors with scurvy and divided them into six pairs. He gave each pair a different treatment. Some got cider. Some got vinegar. Some got seawater. Some got a paste of garlic and herbs.
One pair got two oranges and one lemon every day.
The men who ate the oranges and lemons recovered completely within six days. They were fit enough to help care for the other sailors. The rest showed no improvement.
Lind had discovered that something in citrus fruits cured scurvy. But he did not know what that something was. It would take another 150 years to isolate it. Finally, in 1932, scientists identified the missing nutrient. They called it vitamin C (ascorbic acid).
How Your Body Uses Vitamin C – The Collagen Secret
Now we know exactly why missing vitamin C causes so much damage. Vitamin C is essential for making collagen. Collagen is the glue that holds your body together. It is the main structural protein in your skin, bones, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels.
Without vitamin C, your body cannot produce strong collagen. Your blood vessel walls become weak and brittle. They crack and leak. That is why scurvy causes bleeding gums, easy bruising, and wounds that will not heal. Your arteries literally start to fall apart.
Here is another fact most people do not know. Humans are one of the few mammals that cannot make their own vitamin C. Almost all other animals produce it naturally in their bodies. But our ancestors lost that ability millions of years ago. That means you must get vitamin C from food every single day. If you do not, your body slowly falls apart – first at the blood vessels, then everywhere else.
From Scurvy to Heart Disease – The Same Pattern
This is where my work begins. In my book Unraveling the Root Cause of Chronic Diseases, I explain that heart disease follows the exact same pattern as scurvy.
Scurvy is acute vitamin C deficiency. Heart disease is chronic, sub‑clinical vitamin C deficiency – a slow scurvy that takes decades to show up.
Here is what happens. Without enough vitamin C, your artery walls grow weak. They develop tiny cracks and lesions. Your body, trying to survive, sends a repair molecule to patch those cracks. That repair molecule is called Lp(a) – a sticky, cholesterol‑rich particle. It acts like a biological bandage.
But if the deficiency continues, the patches build up. They become what we call plaque. The artery narrows. Blood flow slows. And eventually, a heart attack or stroke occurs.
The mainstream tells you that high Lp(a) is “genetic” and “untreatable.” But the real cause is not your genes. It is the environment your genes work in. Give your body enough vitamin C – along with the amino acids lysine and proline – and your arteries can rebuild strong collagen. The cracks heal. The patches are no longer needed. The Lp(a) number comes down on its own.
What You Can Do Today
Scurvy was conquered not by a drug but by restoring what was missing – vitamin C. Heart disease can be approached the same way. Not by lowering numbers with expensive medications, but by giving your body the nutrients it needs to repair itself.
If you want to understand how this applies to your heart, your blood vessels, and your long‑term health, read my book Unraveling the Root Cause of Chronic Diseases. I will show you exactly which nutrients are missing and how to put them back.
o understand how this deficiency pattern applies to heart disease, read: The Root Cause of Heart Disease: It’s a Synergistic Nutrient Deficiency, Not Saturated Fats
“Written by Dr. Balaram Dhotre, PhD – author of “Unraveling The Root Cause of Chronic Diseases” and “Reverse Heart Disease: No Lifelong Suffering.”
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My Book
Links on Amazon
Unraveling The Root Cause of Chronic Diseases:
Reverse Heart Disease: No Lifelong Suffering
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