They found it was cured by lemon juice, but they didn't understand the details. Over years, they switched to lime juice (less vitamin C), put it in copper pipes (leaches vitamin C). But ships were faster so there was more fresh food available, masking the problem. Then scurvy starts mysteriously popping up again 100 years after it was first "cured."
Hard to keep track of the effects of all the details in the face of various co-dependent things changing simultaneously. Recipe for surprises.
They found it was cured by lemon juice, but they didn't understand the details. Over years, they switched to lime juice (less vitamin C), put it in copper pipes (leaches vitamin C). But ships were faster so there was more fresh food available, masking the problem. Then scurvy starts mysteriously popping up again 100 years after it was first "cured."
Hard to keep track of the effects of all the details in the face of various co-dependent things changing simultaneously. Recipe for surprises.
[1] https://www.bluesci.co.uk/posts/forgotten-knowledge