# Is Sauerkraut a Good Antiscorbutic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sauerkraut-a-good-antiscorbutic/649744 "2013-02-08T23:33:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sauerkraut-a-good-antiscorbutic/649744/1 "2013-02-08T23:33:03Z")
The cause of scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) was known by the 18th century. Royal Navy surgeons discovered the cure (lemon or lime juice); later it was found that vitamin C was present in many fruits and vegetables. Cabbage (fresh) has a lot of vitamin C-but fermented cabbage? It was believed so, as 18th and 19th century sailors ate a lot of it -t was on the menu every night on the USS Constitution. Does fermenting the cabbage retain the vitamin C? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sauerkraut-a-good-antiscorbutic/649744/2 "2013-02-08T23:40:16Z")
One cup of canned sauerkraut has [35% of the daily recommended Vitamin C.](http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2614/2) I don’t know how that compares to sauerkraut made in the 18th century. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sauerkraut-a-good-antiscorbutic/649744/3 "2013-02-09T04:25:37Z")
The RDA for men is 90 mg, and for women it’s 75 mg. Very little Vitamin C is needed to prevent scurvy (10 mg/day), so if a cup has 35%, that cup has about 1/3 of the RDA, and about 2.5x the amount necessary to prevent scurvy. I’d say it’s a decent enough antiscorbutic, but you’d have to eat it pretty steadily. Something like chilies or brussels sprouts are much higher in Vitamin C, so you’d have to eat them less often, or in smaller amounts. > **[Vitamin C](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C)** > > Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical "serum" ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) and wrinkles on the face. It is used to prevent and treat scurvy. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient involved in the repair of tissue, the formation of collagen, and the enzymatic production of certain neurotransmitters. It is required for the fu There is some... ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sauerkraut-a-good-antiscorbutic/649744/4 "2013-02-09T04:53:46Z")
Didn’t lime not work, unlike lemons? ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sauerkraut-a-good-antiscorbutic/649744/5 "2013-02-09T14:51:53Z")
Lime worked, just not as well as lemons, at least according to Bill Bryson in _At Home_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sauerkraut-a-good-antiscorbutic/649744/6 "2013-02-09T15:45:00Z")
Lime has 29 mg/100 grams of Vitamin C; Lemons have 53. So limes are good enough to prevent scurvy, but not as good as lemons. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sauerkraut-a-good-antiscorbutic/649744/7 "2013-02-09T15:54:12Z")
You can boost the vitamin C in limes by 2% RDA if you add an ounce of coconut meat, or by 10% RDA by adding one cup of coconut water. > **[Vitamins in Coconuts](https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/food/coconut/vitamins)** > > Find detailed vitamins information for Coconuts including Popular Serving Sizes of Coconut and Other Popular Types of Coconut. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sauerkraut-a-good-antiscorbutic/649744/8 "2013-02-09T19:25:57Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > You can boost the vitamin C in limes by 2% RDA if you add an ounce of coconut meat, or by 10% RDA by adding one cup of coconut water. > > [Vitamins in Coconuts](http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/food/coconut/vitamins) So you’re saying we should put de lime in de coconut an’ drink it all up?