One of the first people involved in that search was James Lind of Scotland. In the 1740's, Lind was a doctor for the British Navy. He was investigating a problem that had existed in the Navy for many years.
The problem was the disease scurvy. So many sailors had scurvy that the Navy’s fighting strength was very low. The sailors were weak from bleeding inside their bodies. Even the smallest wound would not heal. Doctor Lind thought the sailors were getting sick because they failed to eat some kinds of foods when they were at sea for many months.