Scurvy, an 18th century disease caused by a lack of vitamin C, appears to have made a surprise comeback in Australia.
Historically associated with old-world sailors on long voyages, scarily scurvy has been detected in a number of diabetic patients at Westmead Hospital in western Sydney.
But its re-emergence shouldn't come as a surprise because of the "poor" modern-day diet, says one expert.
There is a direct link between not eating enough vegetables and fruit and lifestyle-related diseases, says Ms Reetica Rekhy who's just completed her PhD at the University of Sydney.
"If we are not eating what we are meant to eat, it will have a reflection on our health and there will be all these conditions (like scurvy) that will emerge or re-emerge," she said.
Most Australians don't meet World Health Organisation standards for vegetable consumption.
Research conducted by Ms Rekhy, and recently published in the journal Nutrition & Dietetics, found that while almost half of Australians eat the recommended two serves of fruit daily, only seven per cent of adults - or one in 20 people - consumed the recommended two to eight serves of vegetables.
Her research also found most of the 1000 respondents did not have a good understanding about specific nutritional benefits of most vegetables.
She says appropriate vegetable consumption is crucial to reducing the risk of diseases such as cancers.
Professor Jenny Gunton from Westmead Hospital's Centre for Diabetes, Obesity and Endocrinology says several of her patients with long-running unhealed wounds were cured by a simple course of vitamin C.
A lack of vitamin C in the body results in the defective formation of collagen and connective tissues, which can cause bruising, bleeding gums, blood spots in the skin, joint pain and impaired wound healing.
When the patients were asked about their diet, some were eating little or no fresh fruit and vegetables.
The rest ate fair amounts of vegetables but were over-cooking them, which destroys the vitamin C.
Prof Gunton fears the problem could be much more widespread.
"Human bodies cannot synthesise vitamin C, so we must eat foods containing it," she said.
Tim McMaster an accredited practising dietitian and spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia says while the number of scurvy cases reported is small, it's still "scary".
"The only time it (scurvy) should be common in this day and age is for people who are in hospital for a long time with repeated surgeries, or cancer patients or burns patients, but not in the general population," said Mr McMaster, who also works for Diabetes Victoria.
Interestingly, Mr McMaster says vitamin C deficiency has started to pop up among those following a low carbohydrate diet, mainly because they're cutting back on their fruit intake.
He says it's important for people to remember that when they eat fruit it's not just the carbohydrate and sugar they're consuming, there are other important nutrients - like fibre - that are good for health.
Common foods that are high in vitamin C include oranges, strawberries, red and green peppers including capsicums, broccoli, kiwi fruit and grapefruit.
