How did the pioneers get and die from scurvy if they had potatoes? Potatoes have more Vitamin C than an orange. One potato provides you with 45% of your daily vitamin C intake.. so, how did they die from scurvy without oranges if they had potatoes?
2006-08-06 05:05:34 · 2 answers · asked by Imani 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
Well thats interesting. I would've thought a so-called historian would know that potatoes, (along with tomatoes and peppers) are native to North America.
Edit - Sorry, I was so disgusted by the first person's non-answer, I didn't answer you! LOL
The early settlers didn't just suffer from a lack of vitamin C, they suffered from general malnutrition, which showed in the population in the form of several nutritional diseases such as scurvy, ricketts, and beri-beri, all caused by lack of vitamins.
Its tough to explain why in just a few sentences, but starting up a farm from raw land is very tough. It doesn't produce much food the first year, and sometimes not for 2 years. In the meantime, all you have to live on is game and whatever you can forage in the woods. These folks had a very hard life.
2006-08-06 05:19:32 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Potatoes were pretty rare for early pioneers in the United States. Mostly, pioneers ate vegetables and fruits that were native to the areas in which they settled. As things became more settled, non-native plants (like potatoes) were introduced to these areas.
However, while I am sure there were many instances of death by scurvy, it was not a common cause of death among American pioneers.
May God bless and keep you.
2006-08-06 05:15:03 · answer #2 · answered by blowry007 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋