"C"-ing is believing Q: I drink orange juice every day, and only take vitamin C when I feel a cold coming on. My wife's been after me to take extra vitamin C, not just once but twice a day! I think I'm healthy. Is there any good reason for doing this? Dr. Wright: Actually, there's a great reason to take extra vitamin C: If you don't, your body won't get any of this crucial vitamin at all. You see, every other species of animal (with the exception of primates, guinea pigs, and an obscure Indian bat) synthesizes its own vitamin C internally from glucose. When stressed in any way or start to become ill, their bodies immediately start to manufacture greatly increased quantities of vitamin C to combat the stress or illness. But by some genetic defect, humans and the few animals noted above don't have this ability. Mainstream medicine has spent a lot of time and money on treating all other sorts of genetic diseases. But most doctors still don't bother acknowledging, let alone correcting, this particular human defect. Fortunately, it's easy enough for each of us to take care of this problem on our own, just by taking vitamin C supplements. The small amount of vitamin C present in our food -- and in that orange juice you drink each day -- is enough to prevent death from scurvy, but not nearly enough to produce maximum health benefits. If you're still skeptical, consider the fact that research has shown that daily supplementation of vitamin C can increase lifespan in men by as much as six years and one year in women. |
