|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Vitamin C |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
Vitamin C is essential for the manufacturing of collagen, necessary for tissue repair. It is needed for metabolism of phenylalanine, tyrosine, folic acid, iron. Vitamin C is also vital for healthy immune and nervous systems because it strengthens blood vessels, as it is an antioxidant that participates in oxidation-reduction reactions. Also, it is required for utilizing carbohydrates and synthesizing fats and proteins.
How This Vitamin Works in Your Body: The most plentiful tissue in the body is collagen, which is a connective tissue. The primary role of Vitamin C is to help this connective tissue. Because collagen is the defense mechanism against disease and infection, and because Vitamin C helps build collagen, it makes sense that it is also a remedy for scurvy by contributes to hemoglobin production. It promotes the production of red-blood-cell in bone marrow. Ascorbic Acid also supports healthy capillaries, gums, teeth, and even helps heal wounds, burns, and broken tissues. It contributes to hemoglobin and red-blood-cell production in bone marrow while even preventing blood clots. The list goes on. It helps heal urinary-tract infections, and helps treat anemia.
Another large benefit of this vitamin is the fact that it plays a large role in the production of antibodies. When the immune system is being overworked, for example when a cold strikes or when your body is wounded, Vitamin C comes in to play by beefing up the white blood cell count and function. It also functions as a promoter of interferon, a compound that fights cancer. An example of this would be blocking production of nitrosamines which are thought to be carcinogenic Other
functions of Vitamin C include:
Additional Vitamin C may be required for:
Where This Vitamin is Found:
How to Use:
Available as:
Cautions:
Over 55:
Pregnancy:
Breastfeeding:
Storage:
Symptoms of Deficiency: Anemia: tired, paleness
Overdose:
Side Effects:
Interactions:
Does Vitamin C Really Damage Your DNA? Vitamin C is an essential protector of body cells. A newly published study says the vitamin can also play a "dual role" and, at times, actually damages cells' genetic material. Investigators say their findings could help explain why high-dose vitamin C has so far failed as an experimental cancer therapy. The study showed that rancid fat molecules can react with vitamin C to form products that could potentially harm DNA, although the reaction of these products with DNA was not demonstrated in the study. Hence, it was suggested that vitamin C can form genotoxins (DNA-damaging agents) from lipid hydroperoxides, the implication being that vitamin C may enhance mutagenesis and the risk of cancer.
Previous research has shown vitamin C can promote DNA damage, but this
new research demonstrates a different avenue the vitamin can take in
doing harm. This is a test tube experiment and here is "little evidence" that these harmful effects of vitamin C are actually going on in the body. What's more, a significant number of studies have shown vitamin C to either have no effect or a positive impact on DNA. As an antioxidant, vitamin C helps neutralize cell-damaging free radicals, which are byproducts of metabolism found throughout the body. Because of this activity, some scientists have suggested that high doses of vitamin C might help battle cancer by both protecting healthy cells from the assaults of cancer treatment and by fighting tumor cells. The free radicals that vitamin C normally combats can damage DNA directly or by converting certain fatty acids into genotoxins. The researchers found that in the test tube, vitamin C can also give rise to genotoxins by oxidizing these fats. According to the researchers, these findings suggest it will be particularly important to be on guard for cell damage among participants in trials using vitamin C as a cancer combatant. For healthy people the message echoes tried-and-true nutrition advice: eat a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables rather than popping a high-dose vitamin C pill, since the vitamin is no "magic bullet." The popularity among health-conscious Americans for popping vitamin C pills was boosted by Linus Pauling, a Nobel-prize-winning chemist who advocated large doses of the vitamin. He routinely took 15 grams daily and was 93 years old when he died in 1994. However, a nutrient expert at the institution named for Pauling, said such large doses of vitamin C have not been proven to be beneficial in clinical studies. The Linus Pauling Institute does not currently endorse megadoses or promote vitamin C in preventing a cold. They also only recommend taking 200 mg of vitamin C as a healthy body can only absorb about that much a day and the surplus is carried away with the urine.Their advice is to eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables. The Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, recommends that women need 75 milligrams of vitamin C daily and 90 milligrams for men. Smokers need an additional 35 milligrams. These are levels easily achieved by a balanced diet. Science June 15, 2001;292:2083-2086 and Washington Post June 14, 2001
Vitamin C May Prevent Ulcers and Stomach Cancer People with low levels of vitamin C in the blood are more likely to become infected with Helicobacter pylori, bacteria that can cause peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. Researchers are uncertain whether the bacteria lowers blood levels of vitamin C or if high blood levels of vitamin C protect against infection. They suggest that either way high levels of vitamin C may prevent peptic ulcers, which are sores in the lining of the stomach or upper portion of the small intestine, and stomach cancer. Study participants with the highest blood levels of vitamin C had a 25 percent lower prevalence of infection with H. pylori. Researchers suggest that Americans increase their consumption of vitamin C-rich foods to help prevent or lessen the severity of infection with H. pylori. Journal American College Nutrition August 2003;22(4):283-9
Bioterrorism: Beyond Vaccinations and Antibiotics By Thomas Levy, MD Treatment Alternatives Vitamin C, typically as ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate, should prove to be highly effective against both of these conditions. I say "should" only because their rareness has prevented any single vitamin C researcher from encountering enough cases to conduct a meaningful study and publish it. However, the likelihood that both of these conditions could be completely cured, even in their advanced stages, is compelling. Consider the following information: The medical literature has clear documentation that high enough doses of injectable vitamin C are almost always effective in curing any of a number of viral infections still considered today to be incurable. Klenner (1949) completely cured 60 out of 60 cases of infantile polio in North Carolina in the middle of a polio epidemic.
Several infants already had neurological involvement, but nevertheless
recovered completely. Diptheria (Klenner, 1949 and 1971), whooping cough (Otani, 1936 and 1939; Ormerod et al., 1937), and tetanus (Klenner, 1954) all have responded very well to vitamin C. Of great interest as well is that all three of these infections are associated with very significant microbe-generated toxins, much like anthrax. Jungeblut and Zwemer (1935) fou Klenner never encountered a virus he could not cure, although he used doses of vitamin C that are considered outrageously high today, even though such doses are nevertheless decidedly non-toxic. His initial dosing of vitamin C would go as high as 700 mg/kg body weight, which could exceed 70 grams for a large man. Furthermore, he would repeat this high dosing in only a few hours if no drop in fever or clear clinical improvement resulted. He never reported any toxicity from vitamin C dosed in this fashion. My own clinical experiences with intravenous vitamin C infusions allow me to completely believe all of the data that Klenner and others have accumulated. Many feel vitamin C did not deliver as promised when Linus Pauling's recommendations of a few grams of vitamin C a day did not end up curing or completely preventing the common cold. To be sure, it did make those infected feel better, and it shortened the durations of their symptoms. It did also lessen the likelihood of getting a cold. After determining your best daily dose of vitamin C by following the bowel tolerance method outlined by Cathcart (1981) and after taking that daily dose regularly, the likelihood of contracting any infectious disease, anthrax and smallpox included, is remote. For many people, this will translate to a total daily dose of vitamin C of 8 to 15 grams taken in divided doses, although some people will require more. The recommended form of vitamin C would be sodium ascorbate, although ascorbic acid would be If you are exposed to a very high dose of infectious organisms, the maintenance doses of vitamin C noted above can be overwhelmed and clinical infection can still result. The simple answer then is to start vitamin C infusions at up to 700 mg/kg at a time as often as is necessary to obtain a positive clinical response. Lesser amounts and less frequent dosing can be used if the clinical picture is not severe. Obviously, the administration would have to be very vigorous in an inhalation anthrax patient. Regardless of any skepticism that the reader may have toward such high-dose vitamin C therapy, it is absolutely unthinkable not to try it or add it to whatever protocol is being administered to the patient. At the very least, all acute infectious diseases rapidly metabolize vitamin C, and all acutely ill patients are consequently deficient in vitamin C. The administration of vitamin C should always be undertaken when acute vitamin C deficiency is a certainty, even if one does not believe that enough. Hydration is also extremely important, both in health and disease. Furthermore, vigorous hydration (2 to 4 quarts of water daily) will augment the effectiveness of the vitamin C therapy. Just about the only time high doses of vitamin C can cause problems is if the patient is not kept very well hydrated. Remember that patients with high fever loss body water rapidly. Most other medicines have more side effects in the face of dehydration as well. There are a host of other supplements and nutrients that can augment the anti-microbial effects and immune-bolstering effects of vitamin C, which is beyond the scope of this issue of the newsletter. Just don't neglect the most important one: vitamin C.Vitamin C For Peripheral Artery Disease People with a severe form of arterial disease appear to have low levels of vitamin C in their blood, regardless of their diet or smoking habits. Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a form of atherosclerosis, a condition in which fatty build-up accumulates inside the arteries and obstructs blood flow. In PAD, blood flow in the legs and feet is impaired, which can cause lameness and pain. PAD is also associated with an increased risk of death and disability caused by heart attack and stroke. PAD may cause inflammation and the release of free radicals -- compounds that can damage tissue and may contribute to aging and chronic conditions such as cancer and heart disease. While antioxidants such as vitamin C can "neutralize" these compounds and reduce damage, free radicals can also deplete antioxidants from the body when overall levels are low. The investigators found that patients with PAD had vitamin C blood levels nearly twice as low as those in people without PAD. Circulation April 10, 2001;103
Related Site: Treatments: Treatments Programs: Related Sites:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
