| Vol.
I, No. 4 | January
Thaw | Jan.
19th, 2001 |
Focus
On Health
Versatile Vitamin C This
is the time of year when conversations about the electoral college, the stock
market, or the meaning of life tend to be replaced by conversations about
symptoms, sick days and remedies. It’s
cold and flu season. one
of the controversial stars of the season, and of much medical debate, is the
legendary Vitamin C.
Vitamin
C, a water soluble vitamin, is found in most fruits and vegetables.
It has been praised for curing or preventing a multiple of ills and
accused of causing others. Vitamin C cannot be stored in the body and so must be
replenished daily. Whatever C the
body does not use is excreted in the urine.
It’s essential for forming connective tissue in skin, ligaments and
bones and, therefore, is crucial for healing.
It aids in the formation of red blood cells and the function of the blood
vessels. It is necessary for
protecting and supporting many other vitamins and nutrients.
Its most recent spot in the limelight is as a powerful antioxidant.
Antioxidants protect the body from potentially harmful oxygen particles
(free radicals). These free radicals cause oxidation, the same process as
rusting, and are thought to trigger cancer and other chronic illness.
All
agree that significant deficiencies of Vitamin C cause symptoms including
shortness of breath, anemia, lowered immunity, slowed healing, bleeding gums,
poor digestion, breaks in capillary walls and, of course the deficiency disease,
scurvy. But what are the results of
slight deficiencies? What are the benefits of increased doses? How much do we
need? Do we all need the same amount? Is there such thing as too much
Vitamin C? The media has kept us supplied with reports on studies and
recommendations that are at best confusing and often seem contradictory.
C
& Cancer: Vitamin C has been hailed for its antioxidant properties and
its potential to help prevent cancer. "Approximately
90 population studies have examined the role of vitamin C rich foods in cancer
prevention, and the vast majority have found statistically significant
protective effects," reports researcher Gladys Block, Ph.D., of the
University of California, Berkeley. "Evidence
is strong for cancers of the esophagus, oral cavity, stomach and pancreas.
There is also substantial evidence of a protective effect against cancers
of the cervix, rectum and breast." Vitamin
C also helps prevent mouth, throat, stomach and intestinal cancers by
neutralizing cancer-promoting chemicals found in preservatives and naturally
occurring in some vegetables. Vitamin
C is believed to help prevent and fight cancer also because of its
immune-boosting properties.
But
a 1999 study from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center suggests that high
doses of Vitamin C for patients with cancer might actually protect the cancer
cells. This study discovered that
cancer cells contain disproportionately high concentrations of Vitamin C..
Researchers theorize that the cancer cells use Vitamin C to protect
themselves from oxygen damage—one of the ways cancer therapies, especially
radiation, attacks these cells. Although the study is inconclusive it has raised the question
of whether Vitamin C supplements should be avoided by people with cancer.
C
and Stress:
Vitamin C is an important player in the body’s ability to handle stress.
In a 2000 study at the university of
Alabama, rats were stressed. Then
half were given Vitamin C. Levels
of stress hormones were three times higher in the stressed rats that were not
given vitamin C than in those that were. Vitamin
C is also required for the formation of adrenalin, the flight-or-fight hormone
with which the body responds to stress. Vitamin
C, usually in high concentrations in the adrenal glands, which produce
adrenalin, is quickly depleted during stress
C
and the immune system:
Research has shown C’s important role in our ability to fight disease.
Besides reducing stress hormones, which can undermine the immune system,
Vitamin C has been shown to stimulate the production of interferon, a
virus-fighting chemical. Studies on rats have suggested that C may activate
neutrophils, the white blood cells that attack infection.
It also seems to increase the production of lymphocytes, which produce
antibodies and coordinate immune functions.
C
and heart disease: Vitamin C is believed to prevent and in some cases
reverse various forms of heart disease. A Researchers at University
Hospital in Zurich reported in the September 16, 2000 issue of the Lancet, that
“acute administration” of Vitamin
C actually reversed damaged coronary circulation caused by smoking.
A 1999 article in the same journal reported a study funded by the
National Institutes of Health which showed that high blood pressure could be
controlled by Vitamin C. It has been accepted that Vitamin C can also prevent
artherosclerosis, thickening of the blood vessels.
However,
at the American Heart Association's 40th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular
Disease Epidemiology and Prevention researchers reported that middle-aged
subjects who had received 500 mg of Vitamin C daily had blood vessels thicken
two and a half times faster than those who did not receive supplements.
Although the findings have been questioned by several experts—and the
researchers themselves, questions about C and heart disease obviously remain. Plus
... Vitamin C …
could protect against some forms of dementia in later life (as reported in the
March 2000 issue of the “Journal of the American Academy of Neurology”)
…
has been shown to retard the progression of osteoarthritis
…
may help prevent a type of nerve pain that can develop after injury (March2000
Journal of Family Practice.)
Recommended
Dosage:
Like everything else about this over-achieving vitamin, dosage is controversial. According to complementary
medicine guru, Andrew Weill, M.D., “A review of clinical trials published in
the April 21st issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association
concluded that 200 mg a day is the maximum human cells can absorb, making
anything above that level a waste. He
recommends 200-0500 mg a day depending on individual circumstances and the
amount of C you get in your diet. Some
practitioners swear by doses as high as 1000 mg a day.
The Food and Nutrition Board
of the National Academy of Sciences, the advisory group that sets the
Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), recommends 60-75 mg a day for women and
90 mg a day for men. Smokers need
to double their intake because nicotine cuts levels of Vitamin C in half.
All
the experts agree that we should try to get as much of our Vitamin C from foods
as we can, rather than relying solely on supplements.
*But
does it cure the common cold?
Guess what?. There’s controversy.
Both the Merck Manual and the Harvard Medical School Family
Health Guide are emphatic: there
are no studies showing that Vitamin C can cure your cold or even shorten it once
you’ve got it. But what about all
the anecdotal evidence to the contrary? They
saying is, if you don’t like the weather in Vermont, just wait a day.
In some ways, it’s the same with Vitamin C.
If you don’t like the latest word on C, just wait till the next study
breaks the news. . *******
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