THE GOLD KEY FOR OUR HEALTH : VITAMIN C

By Defne Peker - Demet Doğan

Vitamin C is extremely significant for human health. It is generally known as a "wonder worker" for our bodies. Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi who is a Hungarian biochemist isolated Vitamin C for the first time in 1928. As a scientific term, Vitamin C is known as "Ascorbic Acid". Vitamin C plays an important role in our immune system. Vitamin C is known to prevent many illnesses like colds as well as more dangerous diseases such as cancer. (See more: http://www.garynull.com/Documents/vitaminc.htm. & http://vvv.com/healthnews/vitamin_C.html )

What are the functions of the Vitamin C in the body?

When we look at the functions of the Vitamin C in the body, we find that it reaches every organism of the body. Vitamin C supports human beings’ vital body systems. The most essential one is our immune system which fights against germs and tumor cells. In addition, Vitamin C is beneficial for the skin, teeth and bones. It has been said that Vitamin C is a natural aspirin because it can supplied from natural foods. (See more: http://www.garynull.com/Documents/vitaminc.htm. )

How does Vitamin C protect our bodies?

First, Vitamin C prevents the harmful effects of free radicals (see more: http://www.ceri.com/freerad.htm.) and mutagens (see more: http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~ bethmont/mutdes.html

) from the DNA of the cells. It also protects our bodies from environmental pollution from the effects of toxins, including ozone, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, pesticides and heavy metals. Moreover, Vitamin C decreases the abnormal chromosomes which are especially seen on coal workers who are under the threat of pollutants like coal tar, styrene, methyl methacrylate and halogenated ethers. In another words, Vitamin C prevents the risk of cancer. ( http://www.garynull.com/Documents/vitaminc.htm )

Where do we get Vitamin C ?

Given the valuable functions of Vitamin C for human beings, it is also significant to ask "where do we get Vitamin C ?" Around 90 % of the Vitamin C is found in fruits like oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, lemons, limes, papayas, cantaloupes, strawberries and vegetables such as tomatoes, broccoli, green and red bell peppers, raw lettuces and some other leafy greens. ( See more: http://www.garynull.com/Documents/vitaminc.htm. ) Nevertheless, tomatoes include the largest

concentration of Vitamin C that is found in fruits and vegetables. People should consume foods which will provide them with the necessary amount of Ascorbic Acid. (See more: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5552.html. ) Before we go on, there is a chart below which has listed the analysis of fruits and vegetables according to their amounts of Vitamin C. By the help of this chart, you can find which fruit or vegetable is beneficial for yourself. (We have taken the information from this web site. See more: http://www.dole5aday.com/ReferenceCenter/NutritionCenter/VitaminC/vitC_list.html. )

 

How can we prepare foods to retain Vitamin C ?

How we prepare food is significant because if we incorrectly prepare or store foods that contain Vitamin C, we can lose Vitamin C from the foods. So, you should serve fruits and vegetables immediately before they lose their freshness; boil the foods in a minimal amount of water in a short time; cook vegetables, such as potatoes, in their skins, after you prepare your juices, store them in the refrigerator and consume them in a few days; store your raw fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator instead of in water because Vitamin C is dissolved in water. Before we go on, we should consider "how we serve Vitamin C foods ? (You can also see a table from this web-site: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5552.html. )

Furthermore, the amount of the Vitamin C that is needed depends on the age and physical conditions of individuals. But we should remember that Vitamin C cannot be stored in the body. So our bodies need Vitamin C in our daily diet. ( See more : http://www.mgym.freeserve.co.uk/mgym_vitamins_and_minerals.htm) First of all, elderly people may need extra Vitamin C because their diet may be restricted. Men and women who are 65 year old and over need the doses of 150 mg and 75 to 80 mg per day. Moreover, alcohol consumers, especially heavy drinkers, may lack necessary levels of Vitamin C because their diet is also poor. However, the main reason is that alcohol reduces the concentration of Vitamin C in the plasma and also decreases the amount of Vitamin C in the body through excretion. Thus, these people need doses of 500 to 1000 mg of Vitamin C per day. Also, cigarette smoke has a negative effect on Vitamin C. So, smokers need 100mg of Vitamin C per day. ( See more: http://www.garynull.com/Documents/vitaminc.htm. )

Are there any harmful effects of Vitamin C ?

The harmful effects of Vitamin C is a debated subject. First of all, the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is the amount scientific agree is necessary for the body everyday. However, the possible benefits of "megadoses" over the RDA is discussed among researchers. For instance, a University of Florida researcher, "Christiaan Leeuwenburgh who is the senior author and an assistant professor in University of Florida’s Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, claims that "people should limit their Vitamin C intake until we know more. Everyone agrees that after 80 and 90 milligrams, about the recommended daily allowance, it goes out of your body since measurements show that white blood cells are saturated completely after this dose. You’d think that if it goes out of your body it is not harmful, but it may be that the high transient levels do react in a negative way. There is no benefit to taking more than the RDA, and it could actually harm you." Furthermore, he said, "Vitamin C is believed to prevent cancer, but instead, it may be damaging. Studies performed in humans actually show that it may increase DNA damage." (http://unisci.com/stories/20013/0927015.htm. ) Besides, according to Mark Levine, an endocrianologist and Vitamin C expert at the National Institutates of Health, "taking any more than about 200 milligrams per day is likely a waste of money anyway." He thinks like that because body’s cells can just absorb about 100 mg per day. ( See more : http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1668.50385.)

In addition to these concerns, it is also necessary to give information about Dr. Linus Pauling, who argued that intaking higher amounts of Vitamin C than the US government’s RDA’s amounts can prevent the illnesses like colds, bacterial complications, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, asthma symptoms, heart disease, cancer. Therefore, Dr. Pauling suggested 1000 mg / day or more of Vitamin C for the people. Taking megadoses of Vitamin C is not yet certain. (See more: http://vvv.com/healthnews/vitamin_C.html. )

If we do not take enough Vitamin C, what happens ?

If a person does not take enough Vitamin C, he/she might encounter the deficiency disease of "Scurvy". That disease is caused by the absence of Vitamin C. In particular, insufficient consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables cause that disease. So, Scurvy does not only give damage to the poor people, it also may attack rich people as well. Nowadays, this disease is generally seen in children between 6 and 18 months of age. Especially formula fed infants who drink cow’s milk are mostly subjected to that illness because cow’s milk contains less Vitamin C in contrast with breast milk. Also, boiled and processed milk has very little Vitamin C.

If your child gets the illness of Scurvy, you should give him/her Vitamin C rich foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. The amount of Vitamin C is needed around 10 and 29 mg per day by children. (See more: http://www.healthlibrary.com/reading/nature/chap50.htm. )

Last but not least, we understand from this research the benefits of Vitamin C. Beside this, we also learned how much Vitamin C should we take in our daily diets. After people read this text, they may begin to choose their foods more consciously. In other words, we know that how much Vitamin C many foods contain. It is obvious that Vitamin C is a gold key for human beings.