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There is no epidemic of loneliness, but there is an epidemic of scurvy

91 points · 73 comments · luu

  1. crazygringo · · focus · HN ↗
    > All of this can be prevented with a few tablespoons of lemon juice, but people suffering from scurvy do not develop a hankering for citrus. They will suffer and wither and collapse and never even ask for a grapefruit.

    Funny, I absolutely do develop a hankering for citrus whenever my body needs vitamin C. After a workout, and after getting sun at the beach, or just whenever I've gone a couple days without getting enough vitamin C, I absolutely develop a sudden craving for oranges/grapefruit/pineapple/orange juice/Emergen-C. And it doesn't go away until I have enough.

    I assume that this is a kind of learned association, that you can recognize the feeling of vitamin C depletion and your body quickly connects that that goes away when you eat certain foods.

    But my body absolutely tells me when I need vitamin C. And whether it's at a level of "it would be a nice idea to have some now" or "you need a LOT more vitamin C RIGHT NOW".

    1. ungovernableCat · · focus · HN ↗
      Do you crave bell peppers? They have double the amount of vitamin c as oranges do from what I remember.
      1. R_D_Olivaw · · focus · HN ↗
        For me it's either a craving for lime/citrus or strawberries. When I crave strawberries, I know somethings up.
        1. crazygringo · · focus · HN ↗
          Oh yeah strawberries do the trick too. I just only have them around in the summer and go through them so quickly...
      2. crazygringo · · focus · HN ↗
        Yup they definitely work too, but eating an entire raw green pepper doesn't always sit great in my stomach, and I don't always have red/orange/yellow varieties on hand. If I'm all out of citrus, I'll definitely grab a bell pepper instead... but I usually make sure to have citrus around.
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