Scurvy is a disease that likely conjures up images of sickly sailors from hundreds of years ago, but doctors in Canada are being warned to look out for the condition now, as a result of growing food insecurity.
A report published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) details the case study of a 65-year-old woman diagnosed with scurvy at a Toronto hospital last year.
The authors say the case points to the need for physicians to consider the possibility of scurvy, particularly among patients at higher risk for nutrient deficiencies, including people with low socioeconomic status and isolated older adults.
“This isn’t the first case of scurvy that I’ve seen in my career so far,” said Dr. Sally Engelhart, the study’s lead author and an internal medicine specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
Home made pea soup with a ham bone is my all time favourite soup, but I don’t have ham very often. I always joked with my mom that the uglier the pea soup is in the fridge, the better it will taste when you reheat it.
My easy soup is to pick 4-6 items from: mushrooms, carrots, leeks or onion, broccoli stems or fennel, and frozen peas. I add soy sauce to the broth for an umami flavour. I don’t ever have anything measured, but I do taste and sample a lot along the way.
I like to sauté my mushrooms with garlic in a pan, cook off the moisture, then add soy sauce and spices and let that simmer for a while. I don’t know if it makes a difference, but I like to think it infuses the mushrooms with more flavour.
I’ll try throwing in some salsa next time. My mom always put tomatoes in her soup and they were good, maybe it’ll turn out similarly.
I recently found out why my beef gravies/soups didn’t have that depth my grandma’s had … seems you have to add a bit of tomato paste/sauce to it. Something in the tomato brings it out.
Made a world of difference.