> I think even when they did not understand scurvy, they knew that eating that kind of food was healthy.
It was actually well known by your great-grandparents time that sauerkraut prevented scurvy, the most notable example was Captain Cook (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C#History) but it was known to German sailors earlier. Earlier than that it's hard to work out how much they "knew" versus what was simple survivor-ship bias.
It was actually well known by your great-grandparents time that sauerkraut prevented scurvy, the most notable example was Captain Cook (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C#History) but it was known to German sailors earlier. Earlier than that it's hard to work out how much they "knew" versus what was simple survivor-ship bias.