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

limousine Chicago airport Evergreen Park ...

In The News:

The US Army fired Javeline anti-tank missiles from seven-ton robots during a series of war preparations at a recent exhibition in Fort Worth, Texas

We're on our phones all day long. But that means our data is vulnerable to many. There are ways to reduce what hackers can access and protect yourself.

A biometric smartphone app aims to make life easier and more secure by finding a new way to prove you’re who you say you are online

Google pervades our everyday lives. We use it for everything from calendars to our email and document storage. There are ways to maximize these daily uses.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who has detailed how the tech company failed their ethical obligations, launched a nonprofit to solve social media harms.

In order to add the Fox News widget to an iPhone lock screen, an iOS 16.0 operating system update is required. The Fox News widget includes the day's top stories.

Google Chrome is one of the most popular browsers in the world. There are easy ways to get even more out of the user experience with some simple tricks

We all use technology every day. Eventually, some of it will frustrate you or not work as well as it used to. Here are some tips on how to keep devices working.

A growing number of police departments are turning to new mobile apps to help cops streamline the job, allowing them to better serve their communities.

Kim Komando shares five suggestions on how to make you feel more safe at your home with helpful apps and tips on how to install a security system.

Hackers are a pressing concern if you spend your life online. They can steal your information, identity and access your bank account. Here's how to stop them.

A new study from the University of Texas at Austin found that people who share articles online tend to be overly confident in the subject matter, even if they hadn't read the article.

GPS apps are on everyone's phones and a daily facet of life. They can be tracked however. There are ways to get around this and increase your privacy.

Hackers are more prevalent than ever. To outsmart them, you have to know their ways. Here are some of those ways and how to circumvent those who want your data.

Old film photos can contain treasured memories. But they're not the easiest to maintain. However, there are apps that can help you scan them into your phone.

It's back to school time for a lot of young kids. The world has changed since many parents were in school. There are many ways to monitor your child's activities.

Wifi routers are crucial to be able to access the internet and everything that you pay for. There are ways to check the status of your router or buy a new one.

Streaming costs are continuing to soar as more services hike their prices. There are ways to blunt that cost on your wallet. Here's some easy tricks.

Tech companies know more about you than you may think. Here are some easy and quick tips to hide your private information, as well as handy links for how to do it.

The Samsung Unpacked event happened on August 10, 2022, unveiling the new products added to the Samsung line including two new phones, an updated Galaxy watch and updated buds.

You are Closer to Being Vitamin C Deficient Than You Think

Nutrition Nutrition