Vitamin C is the most common form of nutrient known to many. Parents give it to their kids to help strengthen their immune system. Young adults take it as supplementation to their regular diet. Older folks might pop one or two when they catch a cold. Some like me, used to take 1000mg twice a day (I am not now… read on to find out why?). So what is the real deal with Vitamin C?
‘The story of vitamin C began centuries ago with accounts of a disease called scurvy. The ailment causes muscle weakness, lethargy, poor wound healing, and bleeding from the gums and under the skin. Scurvy was rampant around the world for centuries, and documents dating back before the time of Christ describe the disease. Ships’ logs tell of its widespread occurrence among sailors in the 16th century.
History books report that scurvy was a common problem among the troops during the American Civil War. And records of Antarctic explorers recount how Captain Robert Scott and his team succumbed to the malady in 1912.
Almost as old as reports of the disease are reports of successful ways to treat it: green salads, fruits, vegetables, pickled cabbage, small onions, and an ale made of such things as wormwood, horseradish, and mustard seed. In the 1530s, French explorer Jacques Cartier told how the natives of Newfoundland cured the mysterious disease by giving his men an extract prepared from the green shoots of an evergreen tree, which the men then called the “arbor vitae” or tree of life .
However, the disease was still the “scourge of the navy” 200 years later, when the British physician James Lind singled out a cure for scurvy. Believing that acidic materials relieved symptoms of the illness, Lind tried six different substances on six groups of scurvy-stricken men. He gave them all the standard shipboard diet, but to one pair of men in each of the six groups he gave a different test substance. One pair received a solution of sulfuric acid each day; another, cider; and a third, sea water. The fourth pair received vinegar, and the fifth took a daily combination of garlic, mustard seed, balsam of Peru, and gum myrrh. The sixth pair in the experiment received two oranges and a lemon each day-lucky them.
Lind found that the men who ate citrus fruit improved rapidly; one returned to duty after only six days. The sailors who drank the cider showed slight improvement after two weeks, but none of the others improved.
Although Lind published the results of his experiment, 50 years passed before the British navy finally added lime juice to its sailors’ diets. And it wasn’t until 1932 that researchers isolated the vitamin itself. At the time, it carried the name hexuronic acid. Later, scientists renamed it ascorbic (meaning “without scurvy”) acid.’
http://health.howstuffworks.com/what-is-vitaminc.htm
Main benefits of Vitamin C
Protects enzymes involved in cholesterol metabolism and immune function.
Aids in absorption of iron and calcium.
Anti-oxidant, protects cell’s DNA from damage and mutation.
Could prevent cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and aging.
Works with Vitamin E for more powerful antioxidant property.
Protects the cardiovascular system.
Cofactor in the formation and repair of collagen, promotes faster healing of wounds.
Promotes development of bones and teeth.
Aids in amino acid metabolism and synthesis of hormones.
In our daily life, vitamin C is easily lost during the process of elimination, sneezing, sleeping and talking. Since Vitamin C is water-soluble, it is easily lost when vegetables are soaked in water; vitamin C is heat sensitive, it is lost once again when cooking time is prolonged or in high temperatures; vitamin C oxidize easily in the air, when greens and fruits are stored over a longer period, again vitamin C is lost. In fact it start losing its nutrients the moment it is plucked from its source.
It is not easy to ensure our daily intake to include adequate fruits and we can’t ensure that vitamin C can be obtained from the food we eat. Hence, Vitamin C needs to be supplemented everyday!
BEWARE!
When taking Vitamin C supplementation, orange pills comes to mind in reference to synthetic Vitamin C. More informed consumers might look for high dose Vitamin C ~ 1000mg and stuff. Below are 5 truth you should know about these synthetic Vitamin Cs
(used to consume them, thinking better synthetic than nothing, but have since stopped)
1) Synthetic Vitamin C requires flavoring agent to disguise the sour taste of ascorbic acid.
2) Synthetic Vitamin C, contains only a fraction of Vitamin C. Ascorbic acid cannot be utilized in the body unless the missing parts (co factors) are present, the body will draw on its own stores to make up the differences, so that the whole vitamin may be present.
3) Most synthetic Vitamin C contains 50% L-isomer (can be fully utilized by the human body, then again you need the co-factors) and 50% D-isomer Ascorbic Acid ( cannot be utilized by the body)
4) Most synthetic Vitamin C, produced from cornstarch, was never ‘alive’ or part of anything ‘ alive’.
5) Overdosing on Vitamin C could cause flushing, headache, frequent urination, lower abdomen spasms, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
So the first choice in source of Vitamin C should be from fruits (citrus). Which is picked straight from the trees.
Second would be local fruits in the market, preferably organic produce. Local because most energy and nutrients in the fruits are still intact (minimal loss)
Third choice would be concentrated dried raw fruit made from rapid freeze drying method. As this technology enables the nutrient and enzyme content of fruits to be locked in powder form. With this wonderful technology we can consume the nutrients of different types of fruits without actually consuming the fruits itself.
Not convincing enough? Read what Dr. Ben Kim has to say on synthetic vitamin C. I personally recommend that you subscribe to his newsletter at http://www.drbenkim.com
Here are some facts that you won’t find advertised on most of the vitamin supplements at your local vitamin store:
- The majority of commercial vitamin supplements are made up of synthetic vitamins
- Synthetic vitamins do not perform the same functions in your body as vitamins found naturally in whole food
- Many synthetic vitamins deplete your body of other nutrients and tax your kidneys before being excreted through your urine
If you want a comprehensive understanding of what vitamins are and what they do in your body, it would be best to take a full course in biochemistry. Do you remember all of those molecular formulas and chemical reactions that you studied in your high school chemistry class? Biochemistry is really just an extension of chemistry, with an emphasis on the thousands of chemical reactions that occur in your body on a moment-to-moment basis.
Anyone who studies biochemistry learns that vitamins do not exist as single components that act on their own. Vitamins are made up of several different components – enzymes, co-enzymes, and co-factors– that must work together to produce their intended biologic effects.
Vitamins that are found naturally in whole foods come with all of their necessary components. The majority of vitamins that are sold in pharmacies, grocery stores, and vitamin shops are synthetic vitamins, which are only isolated portions of the vitamins that occur naturally in food.
A good example is vitamin C. If you take a look at a variety of vitamin C supplements, you will find that the majority of them contain only ascorbic acid or a compound called ascorbate, which is a less acidic form of acorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is NOT vitamin C. It represents the outer ring that serves as a protective shell for the entire vitamin C complex, much like an orange peel that serves as a protective shell for an orange. Real vitamin C found in whole foods like fruits and vegetables contain the following components:
- Rutin
- Bioflavonoids (vitamin P)
- Factor K
- Factor J
- Factor P
- Tyrosinase
- Ascorbinogen
- Ascorbic Acid
When you take only ascorbic acid found in your synthetic vitamin C tablet or powder, your body must gather all of the other components of the full vitamin C complex from your body’s tissues in order to make use of it. In the event that your body does not have adequate reserves of the other components, ascorbic acid itself does not provide any of the health benefits that the full vitamin C complex does. After circulating through your system, the unused ascorbic acid is eliminated through your urine.
Just like vitamin C, almost all other vitamins that we know of offer their full health benefits when they are in the presence of a number of enzymes, co-enzymes, co-factors, and even minerals. For example, Vitamin D may have as many as twelve different active components, while vitamin P has at least five different components. The mineral copper is needed for full vitamin C activity, while vitamin E works closely with the mineral selenium to provide its health promoting, anti-oxidative effect.
Clearly, it is best to get your vitamins from whole foods because whole foods provide complete vitamins rather than fractions of them. In many cases, whole foods also provide the minerals that are necessary for optimal vitamin activity. For example, sunflower seeds are an excellent whole food source of vitamin E and the mineral selenium, both of which need each other to offer their full health benefits.
How do you know if the vitamins on your kitchen counter are from whole foods or if they are synthetic?
If the list of ingredients includes an actual vitamin like Vitamin C” rather than an actual food that contains natural vitamin C like “acerola cherry powder”, you can bet that it is a synthetic vitamin.
If you choose to use nutritional supplements, it is in your best interest to use only those products that list actual foods as their ingredients rather than synthetic and isolated vitamins. While some synthetic and isolated vitamins have been shown to provide minimal health benefits, on the whole, most of them cause more harm than good and you are far better off spending your money on whole foods.
It is important to note that the principles in this article are just as relevant and applicable to minerals and mineral supplements.
Who should consider Vitamin C supplementation?
a) Those on diet which consists of mainly processed and wholly cooked foods.
b) Those who consumed little quantity of fruits and vegetables.
c) Those with weak immune systems. (catching colds every now and then).
d) Those with Anemia, Osteoporosis, Arthritis, High blood pressure, High cholesterol, High blood sugar.
e) Those at risk of heart disease and stroke.
f) Those working at stressful environments because the adrenal glands needs sufficient Vitamin C to fight off toxins resulting from high oxidation in the blood.
g) Smokers, one cigarette can use up a whopping 25mg of Vitamin C. RDA set for Vitamin C is 60mg. that’s a quarter loss for every stick.
h) Alcohol drinkers because alcohol can dilute ascorbic acid in Vitamin C and is excreted through our urine.
i) Children because most eat excessive refined and processed foods and little whole foods or fruits. Vitamin C boosts their immune system too.
j) Choosy eaters and those who has a habit of skipping breakfast.
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