Do you bruise easily?
Do your gums bleed?
Do you get frequent colds?
Is Asthma one of your ailments?
Are allergies an ongoing problem?
Have you had an abnormal Pap smear?
What about Cervical dysplasia?
Do you have Diabetes?
Eczema, a problem?
Gingivitis and dental problems?
Have you been diagnosed with Glaucoma ?
Do you have Hepatitis ?
High blood pressure, is it something you deal with?
Do you have episodes of Hives from time to time ?
Vitamin C can help alleviate these problems?
Read on
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As most of us are aware, Vitamin C is important for proper health.
Scurvy or Vitamin C Deficiency is more common than you think.
When people have gums that bleed or easy bruising Vitamin C is the first thing to consider.
Frequent colds have been associated with low Vitamin C levels for almost a century.
Remember from history that death was the end-point in the days of the "Limeys" during the 1800's. [ along with erratic behavior and broken bones]
Between 1556 and 1857 – 114 epidemics of scurvy were reported during the winter months when fresh fruits and vegetables were not available.
This talk of Scurvy may seem antiquated and perhaps unnecessary but I assure you it is important.
Most of us are borderline low on C.
Doctors have discovered that many conditions can benefit from optimal levels of vitamin C. More on this in a minute.
It can be argued that we need around 4,000 mg Vitamin C [with rose hips] per day for optimal health.
We cannot manufacture our own vitamin C – it must be in our diets. Nearly every animal makes their own vitamin C - including dogs, cats, lions, tigers and bears.
A mule makes around 13 grams a day where a gorilla makes 4 grams or so; this means they are using that much and it gives us an idea what we need by example.
Most animals make about 30 mg per kilogram of body weight. For a person who weighs, say, 150 pounds, that adds up to about 2 grams a day. Rats, mice, and rabbits manufacture seven times that amount when under stress.
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Interesting Note:
Vitamin C is compartmentalized/"stored" in the tissues at a fairly steep gradient.
If the blood the level of vitamin C is 1, the lens of the eye has a level of 100 and the adrenal glands are at 150.
But if the blood level is only 0.1 the respective levels will be 10 and 15, a huge difference.
Each tissue has a similar gradient; as do many types of cells like white blood cells in particular but also realize that EVERY cell membrane's optimal function relies on this gradient formation.
So, It is accurate... We do "urinate out excess water soluble vitamins"..... But, not before making stockpiles of sorts.
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Also.....
Animals that create their own Vitamin C do not have serious ALLERGIC reactions. [aka Anaphylaxis]
Scientists have been unable to induce/cause Anaphylaxis/Life threatening allergic reactions in animals that make their own vitamin C.
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How much Vitamin C is in foods?
Red chili peppers - 396mg/100gm or 3.5 ounces
Kale leaves - 186 mg /100 grams or 855 mg of vitamin C per pound
Strawberries - 59 mg / 100 grams or 271 mg per pound
Oranges - 50mg/100 grams [average orange = 200 grams]
Calf liver - 26 mg /100 grams or 119 mg per pound
Cantelope - 33mg/ 100mg or 150 mg per pound
Oysters - 30mg/ 100mg or 3.5 ounces = 1 or 2 oysters
Green onions - 32mg/ 100gm or 146mg per pound
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You can see that it is difficult to get the 1,000mg dose of vitamin C that is considered the starting point for our nutritional needs.
All serious studies use 1,000mg of vitamin C or more.
Vitamin C is 100% non-toxic – even at very high doses – Many doctors give 25,000mg of vitamin C intravenously with good results.
Various studies give tremendous results.
Here are a few excerpts to consider with associated links.
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From The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Vitamin C status and mortality in US adults Catherine M Loria, et al
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Conclusions: These data suggest that men with low serum ascorbate concentrations may have an increased risk of mortality, probably because of an increased risk of dying from cancer. In contrast, serum ascorbate concentrations were not related to mortality among women.
http://www.ajcn.org/content/72/1/139.full
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From Thorax – an International Journal of Respiratory Medicine Asthma
Association between antioxidant vitamins and asthma outcome measures: systematic review and meta-analysisS Allen, J R Britton, J A Leonardi-Bee
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Conclusions: Relatively low dietary intakes of vitamins A and C are associated with statistically significant increased odds of asthma and wheeze. Vitamin E intake does not appear to be related to asthma status.
http://thorax.bmj.com/content/64/7/610.abstract
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From the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
Blocking effect of vitamin C in exercise-induced asthma.Cohen HA, Neuman I, Nahum H. ----------------
In 9 patients, a protective effect on exercise-induced hyper-reactive airways was documented. Four of 5 patients who received ascorbic acid and documented a protective effect on EIA continued to receive ascorbic acid, 0.5 g/d, for 2 more weeks with the same protective effect.
CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy of vitamin C in preventing EIA cannot be predicted. However, vitamin C may have a protective effect on airway hyperreactivity in some patients with EIA.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9111435
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From The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1997
Vitamin C and CataractsJacques, et al.
Subjects taking vitamin C supplements for more than 10 years had a 77% lower risk of early lens opacities (cataracts) and 83% lower risk of moderate lens opacities.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.gov/9322567/
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Vitamin C can help many conditions and ailments
Cervical dysplasia, Diabetes, Eczema, Gingivitis. Glaucoma, Hepatitis, High blood pressure, Hives, Macular degeneration, Sports injuries, Herpes simplex, Arthritis
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Interesting stuff !
A few key points:
Vitamin C with rose hips includes the Bioflavonoids.
I prefer capsules over tablets and avoid chewable versions.
1,000mg twice a day is a good starting point.
I take 2,000mg twice a day [> 2 grams = limited absorption]
Vitamin C is 100% non-toxic - Bowel tolerance is the only limiting factor [loose stools]
With illness our bodies need even more vitamin C.
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And as I always say....
To achieve optimal health we need Full Spectrum Nutrition.
Around 90 nutrients are considered ESSENTIAL
These nutrients can be divided into 4 groups:
Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids [Protein] and Fats/Oils.
If Optimal Health is the goal, it is virtually impossible to get "everything you need" from foods alone.
To get full spectrum nutrition we ALL need to supplement our diets.
Supplements to consider:
1) Get a good multiple vitamin/mineral product. Versions with “Chelated” minerals are best.
2) Take a quality Calcium product. Look for MCHA as the calcium source and one that includes Magnesium, vitamin D and some assorted trace minerals.
3) Take Omega 3 oils. Flax oil is the best to start. Adding Krill or fish oil later
4) Find a good Colloidal mineral product for trace minerals. Make sure it’s from Humic shale and NOT ionic minerals. Humic shale is the "fossilized" remains of the dinosaur days. Plant based colloidal minerals are 98% absorbed.
5) Vitamin E is difficult to get in sufficient amounts from foods. I advise people to supplement with at least 400 IU per day. Natural versions are best, look for “d-tocopherol” but avoid “d-l-tocopherol”- it’s the man-made version and is only 25% usable. Look for a vitamin E with mixed tocopherols that also contains selenium.
As always, feel free to comment or message questions or concerns.
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