<P> A 1707 handwritten book by Mrs. Ebot Mitchell, discovered in a house in Hasfield, Gloucestershire, contains a "Recp. t for the Scurvy" that consisted of extracts from various plants mixed with a plentiful supply of orange juice, white wine or beer . </P> <P> In 1734, the Leiden - based physician Johann Bachstrom published a book on scurvy in which he stated, "scurvy is solely owing to a total abstinence from fresh vegetable food, and greens; which is alone the primary cause of the disease", and urged the use of fresh fruit and vegetables as a cure . </P> <P> However, it was not until 1747 that James Lind formally demonstrated that scurvy could be treated by supplementing the diet with citrus fruit, in one of the first ever reported controlled clinical experiments in the history of medicine . In 1753, Lind published A Treatise of the Scurvy, in which he explained the details of his clinical trial, but it occupied only a few paragraphs in a work that was long and complex and had little impact . In fact, Lind himself never actively promoted lemon juice as a single' cure' . He shared medical opinion at the time that scurvy had multiple causes--notably hard work, bad water, and the consumption of salt meat in a damp atmosphere which inhibited healthful perspiration and normal excretion - and therefore required multiple solutions . He was also sidetracked by the possibilities of producing a concentrated' rob' of lemon juice by boiling it . Unfortunately this process destroyed the vitamin C and was unsuccessful . </P> <P> During the 18th century, disease killed more British sailors than enemy action . It was mainly by scurvy that George Anson, in his celebrated voyage of 1740--1744, lost nearly two - thirds of his crew (1300 out of 2000) within the first 10 months of the voyage . The Royal Navy enlisted 184,899 sailors during the Seven Years' War; 133,708 of these were "missing" or died from disease, and scurvy was the leading cause . </P>

Who showed that poor diet could result in scurvy