In 1938 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering contributions to the study of the treatment of Scurvy and to the development of Vitamin C.[1][2] Theodor Frølich was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway.

He was the son of Hofmarskalk (Lord Steward of the Household) Theodor Christian Brun Frølich (1834–1904) and Bodil Christina (Stina) Grønn (1834–1901).

Frølich then joined professor Axel Holst (1860–1931) at the University Institute of Hygiene to study scurvy, suspected of being a nutritional deficiency among fishermen, then called shipboard beri-beri.

Holst and Frølich established an animal model that allowed systematic study of factors that led to the ship-related dietary disease, as well as the preventive value of different substances.

They discovered that scurvy occurred in guinea pigs when fed solely with various types of grain, either whole or baked into bread, and these symptoms were prevented when the diet was supplemented with known antiscorbutics like fresh cabbage or lemon juice.