What are some symptoms of a possible deficiency of vitamin C?
Although scurvy is not common these days, there are sub-clinical vitamin C deficiencies which can result in poor resistance to infection, slow wound healing, easy bruising and skin hemorrhages, general weakness, nosebleeds, sore bleeding gums, anemia, joint tenderness and swelling, and mouth ulcers can all be signs of low levels of vitamin C.
What is the difference between Buffered-C and other vitamin C?
Buffered vitamin C has a neutral pH thus does not cause stomach acidity, and is less likely to create gastrointestinal discomfort. It increases white blood cell ascorbate levels 4 times more than other types of vitamin C, and is better and faster absorbed. It also provides the additional benefits of the minerals it contains: calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Buffered-C circulates in the blood stream twice as long and is excreted into the urine at a lower rate.
Are there any side effects in taking buffered vitamin C?
For most purposes, vitamin C, in its many forms of use is nontoxic. It is not stored appreciably in our body, and most excess amounts are eliminated rapidly through the urine. However, amounts over 10 grams per day are associated with some mild side effects such as diarrhea or loose stools which indicates that the body’s tissue fluids have been saturated with ascorbic acid. If this happens, simply reduce your dose by 1-3 grams.10
Cancer
Studies have shown that vitamin C plays a crucial role in preventing cancer. More specifically, ascorbic acid inhibits the division and growth of cancerous cells. Thus, it has been used to help prevent it.
Improving Memory
We don't need to understand its biochemistry to know that vitamin C is crucial to brain function. The earliest signs of vitamin C deficiency are confusion and depression. Vitamin C also improves cognition, as shown by increased IQ scores in normal and Down's children. Other studies have shown improved EEGs and alertness, as measured in a variety of ways. Hoffer and Osmond, in a series of brilliant studies, showed vitamin C's effectiveness in treating schizophrenia.
Antioxidant
Most of what we hear of vitamin C relates to its role in destroying viruses and bacteria. A 1995 review by Hemilii and Herman cited 21 placebo-controlled studies in which giving 1 or more grams of C daily significantly reduced the severity and duration of colds. But, vitamin C's anti-germ defense is only one of its many roles in the body. Australian physician Archie Kalokarinos used vitamin C to reduce the vaccine-caused death rate of Aborigine infants from 50 percent to zero.
Autism and the Brain
Vitamin C is an extremely safe substance, which is immensely beneficial to the brain and body in a multitude of ways. Its potential for preventing and treating autism is beginning to be uncovered. Vitamin C is heavily concentrated in the brain, but its exact role in brain function is not understood. There are over 400 references on Medline referring to vitamin C and the brain.
Irwin Stone's book The Healing Factor; Vitamin C Against Disease, he discusses many other ways in which vitamin C protects the body against substances implicated in the cause of autism. A number of studies, starting in the 1930s, have shown that industrial workers suffering from lead poisoning as a result of their exposure to lead in smelters, storage battery plants, and the like, experienced quick relief from their mental and physical symptoms when given vitamin C supplements. He discusses a 1940 case of a 27-month-old child who had eaten materials containing lead who improved greatly when given vitamin C. He discusses a Chinese study in which 1,000 tadpoles were put in water with high lead content, then removed and put into either plain water or water containing vitamin C. Six days later, all the tadpoles in the ascorbic-acid treated water were still alive, while 88% in the plain water had died. He also discusses the protective effect of vitamin C against mercury, arsenic, benzone and other chemicals, as well as such organic poisons as botulism, snakebites, spider and scorpion bites, and bacterial toxins.
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