What is Vitamin C?
VITAMIN C AND NUTRITION
VITAMIN C is a water soluble antioxidant that is essential for life and for maintaining optimal health. It is required for at least 300 metabolic functions in the body. There are very few, if any, biological functions that do not require Vitamin C.
Vitamin C plays a vital role in keeping the immune system working efficiently and helps build collagen, the stabilizing tissue in the bone, muscle and skin. As an antioxidant, Vitamin C is one of our best defenses against the cell damaging effects of free radicals.
Almost all animals and plants produce their own Vitamin C. There are some exceptions, such as humans and a small number of other animals. Since the body cannot manufacture Vitamin C, it must be obtained through diet in the form of supplements.
The non-acidic Vitamin C is a remarkably effective form, especially for those suffering from chronic illnesses such as cancer. This type of Vitamin C enters the body four times faster than standard acidic forms and stays in the body tissues longer.
pH FACTOR AND CANCER
pH means POTENTIALITY to HYDROGEN. It measures equilibrium of acid and base in the body. The higher the pH reading, the more alkaline and oxygen-rich the fluid is. The lower the pH reading, the more acidic and oxygen-deprived the fluid is.
The pH range is from 0 to 14, with 7.0 being neutral. Anything above 7.0 is alkaline, anything below 7.0 is considered acidic.
All healthy humans begin life with the most of the body fluids and tissues in a slightly alkaline state (high pH). Over time, in modern society, the body tissues and fluids often become acidic (low pH) from the food, drink, prescription drugs, pollution and stress, that are absorbed on a daily basis.
At pH level 6.9, the body starts to become susceptible to common viral infections like colds, cough and flu.
Cancer cells thrive inside the body at a pH of 5.5. The lower the pH level the more acidic the person is, thus, the higher the uric acid and other toxins in the body, the more prone it is to sickness.
When we are acidic, we are more prone to chronic diseases and cancer.
When we are alkaline, we are able to stay away from diseases and cancer.
ACID-ALKALINE FORMING FOOD
Alkaline-Forming Food
Fruits:
Apples
Bananas
Blueberry
Cantaloupe
Cherries
Grapes/Raisins
Grape Nut
Peaches
Pears
Olives
Persimmons
Pineapple
Strawberries
Tangerine
Watermelon
Sweeteners:
Raw Honey
Molasses
Vegetables:
Asparagus
Broccolli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Onions
Ginger
Beverages:
Cocoa
Fruit juices
Mineral Water
Natural Water
Well Water
Nuts & Seeds:
Almond
Chestnut
Pumpkin Seed
Sesame Seed
Sunflower Seed
Squash Seed
Spices:
Cinnamon
Curry
Ginger
Mustard
Pepper
Salt
Miso
Soy Sauce
Acid-Forming Food
Fats & Oil:
Avocado
Canola Oil
Corn Oil
Cottonseed
Grape Seed
Fruits::
Cranberries
Plums
Prunes
Grains:
Amaranth
Barley
Buckwheat
Corn
Oats
Quinoa
Rice
Rye
Wheat
Animal Protein:
Beef
Carp
Chicken
Oil Clan
Oil Duck
Eggs
Fish
Lobster
Pork
Pasta:
Macaroni
Spaghetti
Nuts:
Cashew
Brazil
Nuts
Peanuts
Pecans
Walnut
Sweeteners:
Candy
Honey
Maple Syrup
Saccharin
Sugar
Beans:
Black Beans
Chickpeas
Green Peas
Kidney Beans
Lentils
Lima Beans
Pinto Beans
Red Beans
Soy Beans
Tofu
White Beans
CHRONOLOGY OF VITAMIN C
1941 Canadian cardiologist Dr. J. C. Patterson reported that more than 80% of his heart disease patients have low vitamin C levels compared to other patients.
1954 Dr. G. C. Willis showed that Vitamin C supplementation can reduce arterial deposits. Makes first claim that atherosclerosis is reversible.
1967 Dr. Boris Sokoloff studied 13 gm vitamin C on 60 over age 60 patients with CVD. Not a single vascular event during the year long study period when 612 were expected.
1970 Dr. Pauling published his first book "Vitamin C and the Common Cold". Vitamin C consumption in the U.S. rises by 300%. Mortality from heart disease decreases by 30% in the U.S. the only country with a significant drop in heart disease fatalities.
1986 Dr. Pauling summarizes the evidence for vitamin C against heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases in his book "How to Live Longer and Feel Better", which becomes a bestseller.
1989 Dr. Pauling discover that optimum dietary vitamin C prevents the deposition of lipoprotein(a) in arterial walls.
1991 Dr. Pauling published "Solution to the Puzzle of Human Cardiovascular Disease". This scientific paper concluded that Vitamin C deficiency is the direct and most frequent cause of heart attacks.
1992 Dr. Enstrom and colleagues (UCLA) showed, in over 11,000 Americans, that increased intake of vitamin C reduces the death rate from heart disease by nearly half and prolongs life for more than six years.
1997 American Heart Association press release reported on German studies that credit vitamin C in the blood stream with "almost completely reversing endothelial dysfunction" in smokers. In other words, ascorbic acid may prevent damage to the walls of blood vessels caused by smoking that eventually leads to cardiovascular disease.
1997 British Medical Journal: "Vitamin C deficiency, as assessed by low plasma ascorbate concentration, is a risk factor for coronary heart disease." Men who were deficient in vitamin C had 3.5 times more heart attacks than men who were not deficient in vitamin C. One cardiologist has reported that high doses of vitamin C can prevent heart disease from developing in patients who hadn't already had a bad heart to begin with!
Dr. Linus Pauling is the World's one and only, two times Nobel Prize winner.
Functions of Viatmin C
- anti-carcinogenic
- anti-hypertension
- anti-viral
- anti-histaminic
- immuno-modulatory
- opthalmo-protective
- detoxifier
Other functions:
- formation of connective tissue and bones (collagen formation)
- promotes healing of wounds
- stimulates production of important hormones and brain chemicals
- regenerates glutathione
- blocks formation of nitrosamines, cancer-causing compounds
- better absorption of iron
- metabolism of folic acid
- improves absorption of other minerals
- stimulates excretion of lead
Useful link on Chronological Listing about Vitamin C in Sodium Ascorbate form:
http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/chrono.htm
