Search:
 
Sign up for our health emails.
First Name:
Last Name:
Email:
We will not share your email with anyone.
 
 
Home > Articles
 

Advertisement


 
Notice:::
The articles presented are provided by third party authors and do not neccessarily reflect the views or opinions of HealthStatus.com, Inc. They should not be construed as medical advice or diagnosis. Consult with your physician prior to following any suggestions provided.
 

Vitamin C -- The Most Famous of Vitamins!

by David Leonhardt

Vitamin C -- The Most Famous of Vitamins!
By David Leonhardt

We call Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, "the most famous of vitamins" because it really is the best known. It is the first one schoolchildren learn. It is the most cited cure for the common cold. Most people can rhyme off at least a few foods that contain vitamin C. And vitamin C is the single most searched nutrient on the Internet.

HISTORY: Nobel Prize winning biochemist Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi first isolated vitamin C in 1928. (As someone of Hungarian descent, I find this a touch exciting.)

Vitamin C first got its reputation for beating the common cold in 1970, when fellow Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling published his bestselling book "Vitamin C and the Common Cold". In it, he suggested that taking vitamin C at levels well above the USA RDA (now 60 milligrams per day) could strengthen the immune system and help ward off the common cold.

BENEFITS: Vitamin C helps form collagen, a glue-like fibrous protein in bone, cartilage, tendons and other connective tissue. Vitamin C helps give structure and maintain such body parts as bones, cartilage, muscle, veins, capillaries and teeth.

But recent studies have also linked "adequate dosages" of vitamin C to preventing a number of common cancers, of helping boost the nervous system, of prolonging life, of reducing the risk of heart disease, of softening the symptoms of respiratory diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis, and of keeping skin and glands

Advertisement

healthy.

SOURCES: Most animals manufacture their own vitamin C. Primates, such as humans, gorillas, and monkeys, have somehow lost this ability.

Which is why we need to get our vitamin C from our diets.

It is well known that citrus fruits, such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, tangerines, limes, mandarins and others contain vitamin C.

In fact, vitamin C comes almost exclusively from fruits and vegetables.
Other good sources are tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, rutabagas, cantaloupe, kiwi, papayas, potatoes and watermelon.

One place that is NOT a good source are vitamin C pills, which the body just cannot absorb properly. This is a water soluble vitamin best taken in its natural juice or in a liquid supplement.

OPTIMUM USAGE: Fortunately, if you consume too much of a water soluble vitamin, your body will get rid of excess. It also means that your body does not store it for long periods of time. You can't "stock up" on it, and you can reach a saturation point quickly; you need vitamin C several times a day.

Being a water-soluble vitamin, you lose it when you boil foods. For instance, if you boil your broccoli, you will lose the vitamin C. However, if you boil your broccoli in a soup, you will get the broccoli's vitamin C in the broth.

Do not soak or store fruits or vegetables in water, for you can lose the vitamin C that way. In short, the fresher cut the fruit or vegetable,

and the less cooked, the more vitamin C you will get.
Like all vitamins and minerals, Vitamin C is most effective when combined with other nutrients. For example, one of the big benefits of vitamin C is that it helps the body digest and absorb iron, an essential mineral for good health.

It has also been found that vitamin C and E work together to help stave off Alzheimer's disease.

This is one of the reasons it is so important to take vitamin supplements that contain as many different nutrients as possible, so the body can absorb them together and enjoy the maximum benefits from each one.

DOSAGE: Most experts agree that the US RDA is only a fraction of what it should be, and that daily vitamin C levels up to 1,000 or even 2,000 milligrams per day are safe and healthy.

Essential Nectar contains 250% of the US RDA, mixing it with 233 other natural, plant-based nutrients...making it a good vitamin C supplement for your diet.

About the Author
David Leonhardt runs The Liquid Vitamin Supplements Store:
http://www.vitamin-supplements-store.net
Learn more about vitamin C:
http://www.vitamin-supplements-store.net/vitamins/vitamin-c.html
Or read up on other nutrition information:
http://www.vitamin-supplements-store.net/nutrition-information.html


Advanced Search HealthStatus.com:::

including all words :
exact phrase :
any of the words :
excluding words :

Other Articles:

Tips for Making Your New Years Resolution Work!
Tips for Making Your New Years Resolution Work! By David Junno Psy.D. Many of us make New Year’s resolutions few; of us keep them. In their article “If at First Your Don’t Succeed”, Polivy and Herman cite statistics that: · 25% of New Year’s resolutions will be abandon in the first...

Brain Function and Exercise
Better brain function with exercise? The evidence is clear. Not only can you get long-term benefits for your brain from exercise, but you can boost you brain power in the next ten minutes. Exercise can help your brain work more efficiently and actually make you smarter. The...

The Health Benefits of Green Tea - Fact or Fairytale?
The Case For Green Tea Green tea devotees claim that is has many health benefits. The Chinese have been using it for thousands of years to treat everything from headaches to depression and some of those claims are now starting to be verified by scientific research. Here are some...

 
 
 
HEALTH TIP ::::
  Flu shots are safe for children - and for women who will be more than three months pregnant during flu season.
 
 
 JUST FOR YOU::::
 
Advertisement

 
Try our Body Fat calculator today!
  * Fat Loss Product Reviews
OUR NEWSLETTER
 
 
 
 
     

   
Copyright 1998-2009 HealthStatus.com. All rights reserved.