How Did Earlier Inhabitants Of Britain Obtain Their Vitamin C Before All Of These Exotic Fruits Became Available?
Citrus fruits are a much richer source of vitamin C than home grown apples, so how did earlier generations obtain their vitamin C before the development of trade links with other parts of the world? For country dwellers in summer there would have been little problem, as most of the fruits and berries available for collecting in the hedgerows of Britain have even more vitamin C weight for weight than citrus fruits. High vitamin C levels are by no means a characteristic confined to fruits like oranges and grapefruits which originate in warm, sunny climates. Strawberries growing wild in the Alps have more vitamin C weight for weight than oranges. As well as berries, the fresh leafy vegetables eaten by our ancestors would also have contained high levels of vitamin C. Winter would have created more of a problem, especially for town dwellers. When fresh fruit and vegetables were in short supply their vitamin C intakes could have fallen to such a low level that they could well have suffered f
