Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Vitamin C is an essential water-soluble anti-oxidant.

Linus Pauling, two-time Nobel Prize winner, advocated for taking much higher doses of Vitamin C than are recommended by conventional medicine, for treating a variety of ailments, including cancer.

Important functions of Vitamin C include [Marz1999, pg 236]:

• Necessary for making and repair of connective tissues such as cartilage, skin, bones, and dentin (major component of teeth).
• Important antioxidant, protecting aqueous parts of the body, such as cellular cytosol.
• Aids in iron absorption and storage by reducing ferric iron (+3) to ferrous iron (+2).
• Participates in synthesis of neurotransmitters (norepinephrine) and steroid hormones (corticosteroids).
• Participates in the manufacture and regeneration of the most important anti-oxidant in the body, glutathione.
• Necessary for the synthesis of carnitine, which is important for fat metabolism.
• Participates in the detoxification of xenobiotics [Gaby2011, pg 99].

Symptoms of low Vitamin C status include:

• Scurvy
• Poor wound healing

Some people have a genetic propensity to require more Vitamin C than others.

Although most animals can synthesize vitamin C, a few species, including humans and other primates, guinea pigs, and fruit bats lack one or more of the enzymes required [PubMed]. This is an example of devolution, in which a functional ancestral gene has mutated to become dysfunctional. It has been proposed that this loss of function arose because the environment these species were living in was rich in plant sources of Vitamin C, so that there was no survival value to making Vitamin C (use it or lose it). Mice, cats, dogs, and cattle all synthesize 10grams/day of Vitamin C per proportionate body weight [Marz1999, pg 237].

Good sources of Vitamin C include [Marz1999, pg 238]:

• Acerola berries, 10 med (900mg Vitamin C)
• Guava, 1 med (110mg Vitamin C)
• Pepper, red chili 1 med (109mg Vitamin C)
• Pepper, green 1/2 cup (96mg Vitamin C)
• Melons (watermelon, cantalope, etc) (about 90mg/serving Vitamin C)
• Papaya, 1/2 med (85mg Vitamin C)
• Kiwi, 1 med (74mg Vitamin C)
• Brussels sprouts, 4 med (73 mg Vitamin C)
• Broccoli, chopped, raw 1/2 cup (66mg Vitamin C)
• Mango, 1 med (57mg Vitamin C)
• Turnip greens, cooked 1/2 cup (45mg Vitamin C) [kale, mustard greens, spinach have less]
• Strawberries, 1/2 cup (44mg Vitamin C)
• Tomato, 1 med (28mg Vitamin C)
• Citrus fruits/juices [Dr. Weyrich recommends whole fruit, not juice]
• Cabbage, red
• Berries (blue, black)
• Potatos [Dr. Weyrich does not recommend starchy foods]

•       [Gaby2011]   Alan R. Gaby. Nutritional Medicine. Concord, NH: Fritz Perlberg Publishing (2011). Amazon
•       [Marz1999]   Russell B Marz. Medical Nutrition from Marz, Second Edition. Portland, OR: Omni-Press (1999). Amazon
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  [PubMed]
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  [WebMD]
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