Ills, Chills & Allergies

Vitamin C Benefits

Vitamin C has been on the public’s radar for the last forty years thanks to Linus Pauling, a pioneering researcher into the effects of it on bacterial and viral infections

Linus Pauling advocated doses of vitamin C larger than the 90mg RDA (RDA is the required daily amount). The RDA is normally calculated on the basis of how much of a substance is needed to prevent disease. The RDA was never intended to be an amount that confers an immune function on the body. For that, Linus Pauling wrote that "doses from 1000mg to 5000mg were needed each day to get the body to optimum levels needed to confer an immune health benefit."

So why is vitamin c often recommended during times of colds and flus?

Vitamin C has a pronounced affect on your body’s immune response. When a bacterial or viral infection takes hold the need for vitamin c increases. This is known because vitamin c depletion has been observed during infection.

There are two main reasons why vitamin c is needed. The white blood cells, your body’s immune response force, increase in number to fight off the infection, and need vitamin c for their production. Vitamin C depletion early on in infections has been noted by researchers, and this is one of the reasons why they think that happens.

Secondly, your adrenal glands need increased amounts of Vitamin C. White blood cells need food/energy to perform their various immune functions, and it is the adrenal gland that produces a type of hormone that is used to ensure the white blood cells get fed. Remember the old military saying, ‘An army travels on its stomach?’ Armies won’t go far if they are not fed, neither will your body’s white blood cells be able to do much if they don’t receive large amounts of their much needed nutrient. Vitamin C helps the adrenal make energy hormones to feed the white blood cells.

	Ever been exhausted for a week or more after an infection? Guess what? Most of that is due to the adrenal gland becoming depleted of the nutrients it needs during the infection. Dosing with high amounts of Vitamin C during an infection not only supports the immune system but also supports the recovery process as well.
Lastly, Vitamin C will help with repairing any body tissue that may have been damaged due to the infection. Collagen fibres, which all tissue is made out of, needs Vitamin C to help glue it together. Don’t take my word for it, try it and see! Seasonal foods containing Vitamin C Let us know your thoughts on our facebook page: www.facebook.com/clinicians