A British naval surgeon (1739–48) and a physician at the Haslar Hospital for men of the Royal Navy, Gosport (1758–94), Lind observed thousands of cases of scurvy, typhus, and dysentery and the conditions on board ship that caused them. In 1754, when he published A Treatise on Scurvy, more British sailors were dying from scurvy during wartime than were killed in combat. In an early example of a clinical trial, Lind compared the effects of Citrus fruits on patients with scurvy against five alternative remedies, showing that the fruit was noticeably better than vinegar, cider, seawater, and other remedies.

Nearly two centuries earlier the Dutch had discovered the benefits of citrus fruits and juices to sailors on long voyages. In his Treatise and in On the Most Effectual Means of Preserving the Health of Seamen (1757), Lind recommended this dietary practice. When it was finally adopted by the Royal Navy in 1795, scurvy disappeared from the ranks “as if by magic.” Lind recommended shipboard delousing procedures, suggested the use of hospital ships for sick sailors in tropical ports, and arranged (1761) for the shipboard distillation of seawater for drinking. He also wrote An Essay on Diseases Incidental to Europeans in Hot Climates (1768).