Sunday, March 14, 2010

Vitamin C

Did you Vitamin C is one of the least toxic substances known to man...?   Vitamin C (also called ascorbic acid) is water soluble.  This means, your body absorbs only the amount of vitamin c that it needs,  and then quickly turns the excess into urine. - Making it a very efficient way to help the body rid itself of infection.

In general, Vitamin C is very essential for normal functioning of the body. In many animals vitamin C is synthesised from glucose in their body especially -  in the liver and the kidneys. (cool, huh!?) 
But a few creatures -  like primates:  (humans, gorillas, chimps)... as well as  bats, guinea pigs and birds, are not able to make vitamin C within their own bodies - therefore they have to have it sourced through their food!

Fresh, vitamin C rich, fruits & veggies (like: Citrus (oranges, lemons, etc),  parsley, broccoli, bell pepper, strawberries, papaya, kiwi, cauliflower, kale, mustard greens, cantalope, cabbage,  and Brussels sprouts, (among some others :),  are ideal sources to receive this vitamin... but since most Americans don't eat enough fresh, real food, to have it be their sole source - a  daily supplement  is highly recommended for immune strength & health - increasing your doseage, at the first signs of cold or sickness!  We really like Emergen-C,  for our consumption.... as just one packet contains a powerful 1000mg of Vit C, as well as a good portion of energy boosting B vitamins, and various minerals and electrolytes!  --  And the best part, it fun & fizzy... and it tastes GREAT! :)

Dr. Robert Cathcart believes the ideal intake for any individual is the highest level they can tolerate without loose bowels. On the basis of his experience with 11,000 patients over 14 years this bowel tolerance level may be 10 to 15 grams in a healthy person, 30 to 60 grams in a person with a cold, and over 199 grams per day in a person with a serious infectious illness. During an infectious illness the best clinical results have been achieved by maintaining high vitamin C levels in the blood through 3 or more grams every four hours.( again this may need to be sodium ascorbate form)

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Keeping this in mind, here is the (vitamin C consumption)  rule of thumb, we like follow during the time of sickness....

For adults... we do a minimum  of 1000mg/hr. -  taken to bowel tolerance (meaning too much can cause loose stools - just back off slightly and it will quickly clear up/go away).


As for children (run of the mill illness):
Have them take 200mg per kg of weight, and split this in multiple doses over course of day. To get kg-divide lbs by 2.2. --  KB is about 32lbs, so she'd be just over 14.5 kg.  -- That by 200mg = 2909mg/day.  If you break that into 10 waking hours...  her dose would be approx 291 mg.  (give or take a little -  none of it is an exact science...  but this at least gives you a basic dosage idea. )

For something serious like whooping cough/measles,etc....  dosage should be more like 375mg per kg of weight.

I have found the easiest way to get Vitamin C into children is Emergen-C mixed in some water.   But for babies,  you could also get sodium acerbate (vitamin C powder),.  Mix it in with breast-milk (if babe is still nursing)  and feed with a spoon or dropper.  To use the Sodium acerbate for an older [than baby] child...  mix it into something like diluted juice, or a smoothie! :)

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Sources & Links:
http://www.whale.to/a/vitamin_c_info.html
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/archive/index.php/t-43682.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C
http://www.whale.to/a/vitamin_c_info.html
http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/
http://www.emergenc.com


image courtesy of: nytimes.com

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I offer these recommendations from my own personal experience and research into natural healing. Please double check with your [holistic] practitioner before using any of these suggestions.

2 comments:

Kristin said...

Those are great tips! 1000 mg/hour for adults sounds like SO much, though - how do you usually do that? Tablets, Emergen-C, something else?

Tiph said...

@Kristin - I take Emergen-C... it tastes great, and there is 1000mg in each & every packet! :)