Vitamin C the forgotten supplement
Today’s supplement spotlight is vitamin C. Historically, vitamin C is the most recognized supplement for health. In recent years, this vitamin has been forgotten.
Linus Pauling, PhD of Oregon State University, was a proponent of vitamin C but met with great resistance from the medical community. Dr. Pauling was a 2-time winner of the Nobel Prize for chemistry and for opposing nuclear weapons. In the early 1980s Dr. Jeffrey Bland, the father of functional medicine, was selected by Dr. Pauling to be the Director of Nutritional Research at the Linus Pauling Institute for Science and Medicine.
Back to vitamin C. Vitamin C is a strong and potent antioxidant-reducing inflammation. It boosts the immune function and can lead to a shortened duration of the common cold. Research has found that the benefit of enhancing immune function is realized by regular vitamin C intake. It is also a cofactor in the biosynthesis of collagen, which is an important for the basic framework of the human body. Research has also found that vitamin C Is associated with decreasing the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke. The antioxidant properties of vitamin C is important as part of a antiaging plan.
Lifestyle factors such as smoking increase the daily requirement vitamin C. Decreased vitamin C is also associated with preeclampsia and increase in gallstones primarily in females.
Most, if not all of these benefits are related to vitamin C being a powerful antioxidant.
Early signs of vitamin C deficiencies are fatigue, easy bruising, and bleeding gums.
It is always best to get all vitamins and minerals through diet. The best vitamin C supplement that I frequently recommend is Ultra Potent C 1000, a Metagenics product which can be found through my website store. robertromanelli.com
