In a study by Orthomolecular Medicine News, very strong evidence links the not-so-new Vitamin C and saving lives. Simply put, Vitamin C can prevent heart disease, strokes and cancer.
Researchers and physicians are applying this potent healer as a major player in the prevention of:
- High Blood Pressure
- Heart Tissue Health
- Blood vessel alterations
- Degenerative diseases
- Asthma
- Cancer protection
- Diabetes blood sugar level support
Vitamin C 101
- Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is a potent antioxidant with increasingly diverse uses in health promotion and disease prevention.
- Vitamin C impacts every stage progression of atherosclerosis; from preventing endothelial dysfunction and altering lipid profiles and coagulation factors to preventing blood vessel changes that can lead to strokes and other vascular catastrophes.
- Vitamin C reduces cellular DNA damage that is the vital first step in cancer initiation and also reduces the inflammatory changes that allow a malignant cell to grow into a dangerous tumor.
- Vitamin C enhances the health-promoting effects of exercise and reduce exercise-induced oxidative damage.
- Vitamin C supplements also dramatically combat the oxidative damage caused by smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke.
- Vitamin C helps avert or shorten the duration of common colds and may mitigate the risk of serious respiratory conditions like asthma.
- Vitamin C speeds the clearance of the stomach disease-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori and cut the risk of gastric cancer it causes.
Supplementing with Vitamin C
While often taken for granted, vitamin C is a critical supplement in your program to improve your health. The recommended daily level to prevent vitamin C deficiency is:
- NON~SMOKERS: 90 mg/day for men; 75 mg/day for women
- SMOKERS: 125 mg/day for men; 110 mg/day for women
- Optimal Health: Physician recommendation: 1000 mg/day; minimum 400 mg/day
While vitamin C is generally considered safe and well-tolerated, individuals who have certain hematologic disorders such as thalassemia, anemia, or glucose-6-phosphate deficiency should consult a physician before supplementing with vitamin C.
Conclusions
The role of vitamin C in modern science is gaining importance and is growing daily. Personally, I find it comforting to know that we can change the course of our health by taking a simple, natural vitamin supplement. There is no doubt that future studies will uncover even more positive findings on the health benefits of the ancient vitamin C!
Thanks for reading! Barbara