You are Closer to Being Vitamin C Deficient Than You Think

Okay, so you think you are doing pretty well with your diet. You prepare most of your meals at home, don't eat much junk food and aren't a fast food eater only rarely. You think vitamins are pretty much nonsense-particularly since you are eating so well-and besides, you feel pretty healthy.

Well let me rain on that parade a little.

Consider this. In order for nutritional researchers to determine the required levels of nutrients, diets must be designed of known nutrient content with a specific deficiency in the nutrient being studied. Then varying doses of the nutrient can be added to the diet to determine at what level symptoms of deficiency disappear.

In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a vitamin C-depleted real meal menu is described. The diet consists of the following choices:

Breakfast: Apple Juice, Applesauce, Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, Unprocessed bran, Hominy grits, Cream of Wheat, Eggs (scrambled or hard poached), Cheddar cheese, French toast, Syrup, Yogurt (plain or strawberry), Bran muffin, Glazed doughnut, Mini bagel, Cream cheese, White toast or bread, Wheat toast, Margarine, butter, Honey, Peanut butter, Sugar substitutes, Low-fat cream cheese, Coffee (regular or decaffeinated), Tea (regular or decaffeinated), Cream, White milk (whole, 2%, or skim), Chocolate milk, Buttermilk.

Lunch: Chicken noodle soup, Cream of chicken soup, Croutons, Escalloped chicken, Pork chops, Brown gravy, Garlic herb pizza, Grilled cheese sandwich, Tuna chunks, Yogurt (plain, vanilla or blueberry), Rice royale, Black beans, Rice, Pretzels, Applesauce, Diet Jell-O?, Cookies (chocolate chip or sugar), Ice cream (vanilla or chocolate), Bread (white or wheat), Saltines, Margarine, Butter, Sour cream, Peanut butter, Mustard, Mayonnaise, Sugar substitute, Relish, Coffee (regular or decaffeinated), Tea (regular, decaffeinated or iced), Cream

Dinner: Chicken and rice soup, Cottage cheese, Croutons, Fried shrimp, Roast beef, Brown gravy, Macaroni and cheese, Cheeseburger, Chicken salad, Yogurt (plain or peach), Pinto beans, Rice, Diet Jell-O?, Vanilla ice cream, Angel food cake, Bread (white or wheat), Margarine, Butter, Peanut butter, Coffee (regular or decaffeinated), Cream, Tea (regular, decaffeinated or iced)

Evening Snacks: Peanut butter crackers, Graham crackers, Chocolate chip cookie, Popcorn, Ginger ale, Diet cola

If you review these choices you should note something familiar. They are the very foods that the majority of people now consume! By eating these foods a person will restrict vitamin C intake to less than 5 mg per day. The bare minimum RDA (Recommended Daily Alolowance) so far established for vitamin C is 90 mg per day for men and 75 mg per day for women -- and this is highly contested as being far too low. There is a huge body of research now demonstrating that humans need several hundred milligrams (some believe more than a thousand) per day to achieve optimal health.

Vitamin C is a critically important nutrient for humans since our bodies are unable to synthesize it. In the wild, fruits and vegetables would be the main source. Vitamin C bolsters the immune system and is critical to connective tissue integrity and health. In its absence, the nutritional disease scurvy occurs resulting in a sort of meltdown of the basic structure of the body. Teeth fall out, internal bleeding occurs and it can cause a miserable death. In days gone by, ancient mariners feared the disease more than capsizing. But left out to sea long enough with only bread and salted meat they were almost sure to suffer it to one degree or another

Heart disease is a leading killer in modern society. Dental disease is epidemic. Both of these conditions can be initiated or fostered by vitamin C deficiency. There presence may in fact be the very marker that vitamin C deficiency is widespread. Coronary and cerebral vessels lose their integrity leading to heart attacks and strokes, and periodontitis (gum recession, bleeding and oral infection) leads to loss of teeth, foul breath and seeding of the body's organs with pathogens.

Vitamin C is not a silly nutrient to be ignored or played with. Don't assume that because you seem healthy at the moment that chronic degenerative disease is not incubating within. In fact, if you are eating exclusively processed modern fare, you can count on it.

Convert the diet to more fresh and raw foods (See authors The Thinking Person's Master Key to Health (CD), http://wysong.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WOTTPWS&
Product_Code=EDCD21&Cate gory_Code=EDUAIDS&Product_Count=0. Note that there were no fresh foods in the test diet. And certainly taking daily vitamin C supplements (500-1000 mg per day) is prudent insurance given that normal dietary fare is clearly vitamin C deficient.

. (Am J Clin Nutr, 1997; 65(5):1434-40.)

Dr. Wysong is a former veterinary clinician and surgeon, college instructor in human anatomy, physiology and the origin of life, inventor of numerous medical, surgical, nutritional, athletic and fitness products and devices, research director for the present company by his name and founder of the philanthropic Wysong Institute. He is author of The Creation-Evolution Controversy now in its eleventh printing, a new two volume set on philosophy for living, several books on nutrition, prevention and health for people and animals and over 15 years of monthly health newsletters. He may be contacted at Wysong@Wysong.net and a free subscription to his e-Health Letter is available at http://www.wysong.net

---

What about Potassium?

Information on potassiumWhen you read about potassium and senate document... Read More

How to Pick a Trainer ?

Quick Overview- I think the most important thing for people... Read More

Eat and Lose Weight - Its All in those MCTs

Can You Lose Weight Through Eating?You get fat when you... Read More

The Face of the Waters

The story of creation begins with water. Water is an... Read More

Healthy Eating for Executives on the Run

For the executive, maintaining the much-needed balance between career, family,... Read More

How To Get Fit And Slash Your Health Insurance Costs

Okay, before we start, let me explain the purpose of... Read More

There is No Miracle Cure for Arthritis, but Improving Your Diet can Help

Arthritis - if you suffer from this illness, I don't... Read More

Healthy Eating Myths Destroyed

Some of the things you think you know that just... Read More

Eliminate Sugar and Lose Weight

If you want to lose weight, there is one thing... Read More

What is the Cause?

The question most people think they need an answer to... Read More

How to Use Flax Seed

You can eat whole flax seeds but you need to... Read More

Just How Dangerous Are Splenda and Artificial Sweeteners - Which Side is Spinning?

There seems to be fairly poor tracking by any formal... Read More

A Look at Lactose Intolerance

Lactose is the primary carbohydrate in milk. Cow's milk contains... Read More

The History of the Acai Berry

The acai (ah-sigh-ee) berry has been around for thousands of... Read More

Healthy Eating

Recently I found the book : "Eating and health according... Read More

The Worse Mistakes People Make with Food

There are a number of common food mistakes that costs... Read More

Guerilla Health Tactics: 5 Snappy Rules For a Healthier, Happier You

The subject of health care itself often seems plagued with... Read More

Is Chocolate A New Health Food?

Could it be possible that our beloved chocolate may actually... Read More

How to Help Your Picky Eater

One of the most common questions I am asked is... Read More

Allergy Approaches through Nutrition

Spring in New York City is a really magical time.... Read More

Is It Possible To Follow a Strict Diet Program and Still Have A Normal Lifestyle?

Following a diet program of any sort can sometimes be... Read More

Protein and Endurance Sports

Endurance Sports are like music concerts. They start at a... Read More

7 Bad Eating Habits You Should Change Immediately

People are obsessed with dieting and weight loss! Don't believe... Read More

The Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup

High Fructose Corn SyrupBefore we get to high fructose corn... Read More

How Does Glucosamine Chondroitin Help Your Body?

Glucosamine is readily produced in the human body and is... Read More

Building Better Bones

"It is a bone-deep change you are going into, my... Read More

Time Line of the Development of GlycoBiology and GlycoNutritionals

1880s - Characterization of monosaccharides by Emil Fischer.1952 - Fresh,... Read More

How Good Is Your Health?

It is a question we must ask ourselves continually if... Read More

Eating to Gain Mass

This is usually the forgotten element of most mass programs.... Read More

Blueberry Picking Techniques

First of all you have to have a bucket. You... Read More

Glorious Summer Greens

Summer brings a lot of fantastic things with it, but... Read More

Sugar Lovers Beware

It would be fair to assume that almost everyone on... Read More

Whats The Truth About Fat?

When I hear the word fat I usually think of... Read More