Ahoy, matey! Your second prep challenge in December is to buy a year’s supply of vitamin C. During a long-term disaster, this vitamin could prevent a serious illness like scurvy. We thought stores would have plenty of toilet paper on their shelves in 2019, didn’t we? Vitamin shortages happen too. So, stow vitamin C and a few other vitamins in your galley.
What’s Scurvy like?
- Abandon ship! Abandon ship! Bleeding or swollen gums, nosebleeds, tooth loss, bruises, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, failure to thrive, irritability, muscle weakness, cracked fingernails, joint pain, brittle bones, corkscrew body hair, skin rashes and red spots (not to be confused with “The Black Spot”). Savvy?
- Aye, ye must take at least 90 mg. of vitamin C daily, or you’ll shrivel up like a prune!!!
- The National Institutes of Health says, “Signs can appear within 1 month of little or no vitamin C intake.” Shiver me timbers!
- Oscar Pike once said, “500 milligram vitamin C pills stored in a dark place at room temperature will retain enough vitamin C over many years to prevent scurvy.” He’s a Brigham Young University professor of nutrition, dietetics and food science.
So, matey, while you’re shopping for Christmas gifts, toss some vitamin C into your grocery cart for the crew.
Yo-ho-ho! Or is it ho-ho-ho?
Valerie Albrechtsen
The Food Storage Organizer
Purchase my food storage and emergency preparedness items in my Etsy shop.
