Vitamin C in the Lab

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HOW VITAMIN C AFFECTS YOUR BODY

Maintainging an adequate level of vitamin C in your body is vital to your wellbeing. Even the chemical names for the substance suggest the importance it plays in good health: Asorbic acid and ascorbate are derived from antiscorbutic, which means "against scurvy"
In Vitamin C and the Common Cold , Dr. Linus Pauling concurred with Dr. Albert Szent-Györgyi, the man who first purified vitamin C from citrus fruit. Dr. Szent-Györgyi asserted that scurvy isn't the only ascorbate-deficiency symptom. Indeed, both Pauling and Szent-Györgyi think that extra vitamin C—beyond the Recommended Daily Allowance of 70 milligrams—may be necessary for maintenance of health.
Some of the roles that vitamin C plays (in addition to preventing scurvy) include aiding collagen formation . . . promoting the healing of wounds . . . increasing iron absorption in-the intestines . . . protecting important biomolecules . . . and altering

toxic materials. Vitamin C can also stimulate the immune system in several ways to help your body rid itself of viruses and unwated bacteria. Taking gram-size doses of ascorbic acid may also increase the amounts of several proteins that participate in the immune response, and the intake of a s much as three grams can heighten interferon production and white blood cell response to bacteria.
Most animals actually have built-in mechanisms that produce vitamin C in response to stress. Under adverse conditions, their livers are able to vastly increase formation of the substance. Unfortunately, humans lack the enzymes needed for this complex production process, so we must turn to other sources of the nutrient. To keep your body's vitamin C levels up, eat citrus fruits, cantaloupe, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, sweet peppers, and leafy green vegetables . . . and, when necessary, supplement that natural intake with tablets.

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