Vitamin C

The Superhero Vitamin

The many benefits of Vitamin C have been written about and studied for many years. It has been shown to not only alleviate some health problems but even used to treat disease.

This was first proven by Fredrick Klenner, M.D. as early as the 1940's. Some of Dr. Klenner's successes were recorded In an article by Andrew Saul, Ph.D.

The following is a list of the conditions that Dr. Klenner successfully treated with aggressive Vitamin C therapy:

Benefits of Vitamin C

Besides the many conditions Dr. Keller investigated, some of the more common benefits associated with Vitamin C include things like protection from immune system dificiencies, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and cardiovascular disease. It has even been shown to protect us against things like cancer, stroke and aging.

Vitamin C has been called the do everything nutrient. It is a powerful antioxidant that helps to maintain your cell's integrity. It is vital for the health of your eyes, teeth, gums, bones, muscles and blood vessels. And of course it does help with avoiding the common cold.

As Dr. Saul said, "Vitamin C has been known to cure over 30 major diseases for over 50 years"!

How Much Vitamin C Do I Need?

The US RDA for Vitamin C is just under 100mg a day. However, In a quote from Dr. Moyad, MD, he said, "the ideal dosage may be higher than the recommended dietary allowance."

Dr. Moyad and his colleagues recommend 500mg daily to achieve health results and Dr. Keller who did the vitamin studies over 70 years ago was giving up to 300,000mg a day. Linus Pauling, the most famous advocate for Vitamin C recommended 10,000mg a day.

Vitamin C is water soluble and gets eliminated from the body very easily. Medical experts say that humans can lose all the vitamin C in their body within 12 minutes of stress and they also say we are under stress about 97% of the time.

And while your body is amazing and is capable of many things, it can't make or store vitamin C.

So even if you do get the recommended 9 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday (only about 10% of us do) you aren't even getting close to what is needed by your body every day.

Dr. Moyad suggests you add a vitamin supplement to your diet along with trying to eat the recommended 9 servings of fruits and veggies.

Foods and Vitamin C

Almost everyone knows that citrus fruits and orange juice are great places to get vitamin C. But where else can you get good doses of the vitamin?

The following list shows some fruits and veggies and how much Vitamin C they contain for a reasonable serving size.

• Cantaloupe, 1 cup (8 ounces): 59mg
• Orange juice, 1 cup: 97mg
• Broccoli, cooked, 1 cup: 74mg
• Red cabbage, 1/2 cup: 40mg
• Green pepper, 1/2 cup, 60mg
• Red pepper, 1/2 cup, 95mg
• Kiwi, 1 medium: 70mg
• Tomato juice, 1 cup: 45mg.

After looking at the list do you think you get even the 100mg that the RDA wants or how about the 500mg recommended by many doctors. And remember you need this much everyday, throughout the day.

Who Can Benefit by Supplementing

Anyone who does not eat the recommended 9 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday and anyone who is under stress would benefit from adding more Vitamin C to their diet.

Vitamin C is sensitive to stress and is the first nutrient to be depleted. It is an ideal marker for overall health. Alcoholics, smokers and obese individuals are also more susceptible to Vitamin C depletion.

Vitamin C is remarkably safe even in enormously high doses. Compared to commonly used prescription drugs, side effects are virtually nonexistent. Dr. Klenner emphasized that small amounts do not work. He said, "If you want results, use adequate ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)."

What Supplement Should I Choose?

I think we can all see how important Vitamin C can be in keeping our bodies healthy. However, as with anything you put into your body, you want to use a natural product that won't create one problem while trying to alleviate another.

You want a Vitamin C supplement that is balanced and is not made of fillers, artificial colors, and binders which our body does not need. You also want one that becomes available to the body's cells once it is ingested.

Most companies use straight ascorbic acid and throw in a few Rose Hips. That really isn't very close to what Mother Nature intended. Even organic and natural vitamins from the health food store usually only extract a portion of the foods vitamin and quite ofter kill its potency with the chemicals and heat used during the extraction.

A better choice would be food supplement. It is a balanced product with the entire C complex including the bioflavonoids and everything a good wholesome orange or citrus would give you. Also, a sustained release Vitamin C supplement is important since your body can't store the vitamin and it gets used up especially when you are under stress.

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