Articles
Featured in Living Without Magazine - April / May 2010
Mom was right. We should all eat
more fruit and vegetables. These
foods offer vitamin C, a critical
nutrient we need on a daily basis for
the proper functioning of our bodies.
This
vitamin affects health in a big way—from
cartilage and skin to the heart, immune
system and even our moods.
When most people think of vitamin
C, they think of citrus but this vitamin is
found in many of the plants we eat, with
notable amounts in red and green peppers,
broccoli, Brussel sprouts, rose hips
and acerola cherries. |
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Most mammals produce their own vitamin
C but we humans lack this ability, as
do gorillas, bats, guinea pigs, and some
birds and fish and we must acquire it from
diet. Because it’s water soluble (our bodies
store only a small amount), we need to eat
a fairly constant supply of C-containing
foods to maintain optimal levels. Cooking,
freezing, canning and long trips from garden
to consumer can deplete the amount
of vitamin C in foods by up to 50 percent.
So eat your produce fresh and raw—and
plenty of it.
Getting Enough
According to the National Academy of Sciences,
daily dosage ranges from 60 mg for
women to 95 mg for men—but needs vary
widely among individuals and increase
during times of stress and illness. People
with absorption issues and those on
restricted diets are vulnerable to deficiency.
(Smokers require more than non-smokers.)
Nobel Prize winner, Linus Pauling, known
as the father of vitamin C, suggested much
higher doses for ideal health.
One in ten Americans is a conservative
estimate of those suffering from chronic
low-level deficiency, known as scurvy. This
condition causes weak collagen, one of
the main structural proteins in the body,
leading to fatigue, depression, nosebleeds,
gum bleeding, slow-healing cuts,
joint pain, swollen hands, and low-grade
inflammation. In advanced scurvy, the
teeth fall out, open wounds form and
death results, which is why British sailors,
nicknamed Limeys, would suck on limes
when out at sea.
Certain medications—oral contraceptives,
steroids, sulfa drugs (antibiotics)
and nonsteroidal anti-infl ammatories,
like aspirin—deplete vitamin C. If you take
any of these on a regular basis, be sure to
include foods high in vitamin C in your
diet and consider taking a supplement.
The most common supplement is ascorbic
acid, which may cause a bit of intestinal
distress even at low doses, particularly
if taken on an empty stomach. Buffered
ascorbic acid contains a mineral (such as
calcium) to make the supplement easier
on the stomach. Another form is Ester C, a
patented formula that combines C metabolites
to enhance the vitamin’s effects.
Rose hips supplements contain fiber and
anti-infl ammatory biofl avonoids. Ascorbyl
palmitate, a fat-soluble version found
in certain supplements, is added as an
antioxidant to some processed foods.
Many vitamin C supplements are made
from corn. People who are corn sensitive
should choose a supplement made from
acerola, citrus or potato.
If you take too much vitamin C, you’ll
develop gas and diarrhea. This commonly
happens at dosages between 2,000 to
5,000 mg daily. Symptoms disappear
when supplements stop. It’s generally
accepted that taking 500 mg at a time is a
good dosage to enhance absorption. LW
Christine Doherty, ND, is a licensed naturopathic doctor who specializes in food allergies and celiac disease. Consult your health care practitioner before taking supplements.
Reprinted with permission from Living Without Magazine
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