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Tag: vitamin c

  • Does Vitamin C Really Help A Cold?

    Does Vitamin C Really Help A Cold?

    Wet and chilly weather means that cold symptoms like sneezing, coughing, and a runny nose are back in full force. Many individuals take vitamin C in the hopes that it will prevent them from getting a runny nose in the first place. Due to that, it is now second nature for them to grab a vitamin C pill at the first hint of a runny nose. Vitamin C is thought to improve the body’s defenses against infectious diseases. But does the chemical, found in high concentrations in sea buckthorn, black currants, peppers, and citrus fruits, truly serve its intended purpose? Does vitamin C help prevent the common cold?

    For two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, the matter was clear. The scientific term for vitamin C is ascorbic acid, and he began proclaiming its healing properties as early as the 1970s. Linus Pauling suggested a daily dose of at least one gram to ward against the common cold, senescence, and cancer. Pauling, who himself consumed as much as 18 grams a day in his twilight years, lived to be 93.

    There Is No Silver Bullet

    Most scientists today disagree with Pauling’s claim that vitamin C is a miracle cure. For instance, a meta-analysis of studies involving over 11,000 people found that taking 200 milligrams of vitamin C daily does not reduce the duration of a cold and does not even prevent one from occurring. This amount is twice as much as what many health organizations say you need every day, which is about 90-100 milligrams.

    According to Harri Hemilä of the University of Helsinki, who has studied vitamin C for over 30 years, it just doesn’t make sense to take vitamin C 365 days a year solely to lower the chance of a cold. If you’re already deficient in vitamin C or you’re constantly putting your body through tremendous physical stress, like arctic explorers, marathon runners, or other extreme sports, then a high dosage of vitamin C will help you. In these people, vitamin C intake reduces the previously increased susceptibility to colds by half.

    It’s unclear whether a single, very high dosage of vitamin C given at the first sign of a cold would be enough to halt the illness. According to Linda Vorvick, a physician at the University of Washington, vitamin C may help shorten a cold, but it does not seem to protect against infection or prevent the beginning of the illness.

    Beneficial to the Immune System

    The research concludes that vitamin C is not a miracle drug but also has some useful applications. It’s essential for maintaining a healthy immune system. Vitamin C also helps transform dangerous free radicals into less dangerous byproducts.

    Until recently, it was widely believed that you could take an excessive amount of vitamin C with no ill effects. Because the body excretes with the urine what it cannot utilize from this water-soluble chemical. Thus, it was reasoned that overdosing on vitamin C would be impossible.

    However, research from a few years ago has shown that this is not true, at least for some groups of individuals like diabetics. Findings from this research suggest that vitamin C may actually raise the risk of cardiovascular disease in these individuals. David Jacobs, the study‘s principal author and a professor of nutrition at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, warned that diabetics need to be especially cautious when using dietary supplements like vitamin C.

    As An Alternative to Synthetic Vitamin Supplements, Try Eating Fruit

    Regardless, several authorities advise against mindlessly ingesting vitamin supplements, including vitamin C. While the health advantages of eating vitamin-rich vegetables and fruit are undeniable, the benefits and hazards of isolated active components are still up for debate.

    It is not established that chemicals in tablets, capsules, or concentrates may be absorbed by the body in this artificial form. Regardless, it is smarter and healthier to consume fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.

  • History of Vitamin C and Scurvy: The Discovery of the Vitamins

    History of Vitamin C and Scurvy: The Discovery of the Vitamins

    It took more than 1,000 years for mankind to understand that the human body gets sick in the absence of any vital components, such as vitamins. Since ancient times, people have known about vitamin-deficiency diseases like scurvy, beriberi, pellagra, pernicious anemia, and rickets. In some cases, they also knew that certain foods were good for their health.

    However, up until the 20th century, doctors never paid attention to the possibility that a lack of certain chemicals in the body could cause illnesses. Then, even the most common diseases became preventable and treatable with the isolation of vitamins and the determination and synthesis of their chemical structures. It is thought that between 1600 and 1800, scurvy killed about one million European sailors.

    What Is a Vitamin?

    A vitamin is a chemical found in our foods that is essential for good health and the continuation of life. A chemical that is a vitamin for some living species may not be a vitamin for others because they might already be able to synthesize this chemical in their bodies. In the early days, we named these types of chemicals with the words “vital” and amine.” “Vita” means “life” in Latin, and the suffix “-amine” means the same organic compounds. At that time, all vitamins were thought to be nitrogenous compounds derived from amine or ammonia (NH3). Even after it was realized that vitamins could not be derived solely from amines, the term was so widely used that only the letter “e” was dropped.

    13 Essential Vitamins

    Vitamins consist of a total of 13 varieties, divided into two groups: four fat-soluble (A, D, E, and K) and nine water-soluble (eight B and one vitamin C). Since fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in the body, there is no need to take them every day. These vitamins can be harmful to the body if they are stored in excess. Water-soluble vitamins other than B12 and folic acid are not stored in the body, so they should be taken daily to maintain a healthy body. An excess of these vitamins is easily excreted from the body.

    Vitamin D and Niacin

    Vitamins are vital substances that the body cannot synthesize by itself. In a broader sense, we have to get all the vitamins from outside sources. If a molecule is synthesized in the body, it is not called a vitamin. But vitamin D, which is synthesized under the skin when exposed to sunlight, and niacin (B3), which is highly synthesized by the liver to prevent any damage to the body when it is deficient, are two exceptional vitamins that do not comply with this rule.

    Vitamin C Deficiency and Scurvy

    Symptoms of the scurvy disease.
    Symptoms of the scurvy disease.

    Scurvy disease (vitamin C deficiency) was first seen in Egypt in the 1500s BC, especially in the winter when fresh fruits and vegetables were not available. Hippocrates described this disease in the 5th century BC as easily associated with bleeding gums, late healing of wounds, and death. The scurvy disease was mentioned in many historical events, including the Crusades. It was known for being deadly, especially during the Age of Exploration, when people went on long sea trips.

    Christopher Columbus and his crew left the dying Portuguese crew on an island but saw them recover once they returned. They named this island Curacao (meaning, healing), which had all kinds of fruits and vegetables. In the past, when there wasn’t much food available on long sea trips, these ships were like medical laboratories where the different effects of not eating enough could be studied.

    The Arrogance, and Pride

    The Native Americans created a method of treatment for scurvy. They used a kind of tea that they obtained from the bark and leaves of the pine tree as medicine. The French explorer Jacques Cartier brought this tea to France in 1536. He had lost 25 crew members before the locals notified him of this medicine. However, the remedy has not been accepted by physicians for a long time. Because they were not accustomed to learning anything from people, they saw it as wild and unbelievably strange. Because humans are so closed-off, arrogant, prejudiced, and proud, many medical advances have been made too late.

    Lemon Juice as a Remedy Aganist Scurvy

    The moment when the outbreak was treated with orange.
    The moment when the outbreak was treated with orange.

    Traveling to the South Pacific in 1593, Richard Hawkins said, “The results of all my experiments were that oranges and lemons were the most effective remedies for this distemper at sea,” which suggested the fruits as a method of treatment for scurvy. James Lancaster was the captain of a ship in a naval fleet in 1601. He started his journey in late April and reached his destination in September. The Lancaster crew stayed healthy and vigorous throughout the voyage. However, when Lancaster’s ship reached the port along with other ships, they quickly started to help sick seafarers. Lancaster stated in his report to the navy that he brought bottles of lemon juice to the ship before going on the voyage and that his seafarers drank three tablespoons of this lemon juice every morning.

    The use of the juice of lemons is a precious medicine; the use of it is: It is to be taken each morning, two or three spoonfuls, and fast after it for two hours. Some chirurgeon also give this juice daily to men in good health as a preservative.

    A solution for the scurvy disease in John Woodall’s book The Surgeon’s Mate, published in 1636.

    The Discovery of Vitamin C

    James Lind is feeding the scurvy patients with lemon full of vitamin C.
    James Lind is feeding the scurvy patients with lemon full of vitamin C.

    In 1747, Scottish physician James Lind, who was traveling on the ship Salisbury, had important experiences regarding scurvy patients. He ensured a balanced diet for these patients and, as a result, observed that patients who consumed oranges and lemons simultaneously recovered.

    Despite all these developments, the British Navy never recommended bringing lemon juice on ships until 1770. When the colonies rebelled, lemon was fed to the naval forces to keep the soldiers vigorous and healthy to fight them, and when the fruit wasn’t present during the season, they made Indian tea from the bark and leaves of the pine trees.

    By 1911, the effect of anti-scurvy vitamins (otherwise known as vitamin C) was widely accepted. The supplement was named “ascorbic acid” because it was used as an ascorbic. Thus, it was the third vitamin ever discovered. In 1928, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi isolated this substance (C6 H8 O6).

    Misdiagnoses

    But in the early 20th century, the germ theory of diseases was such a constant idea that bacteria or toxins were thought to be the causes of diseases such as beriberi (thiamine/vitamin B1 deficiency) and pellagra (niacin deficiency). Therefore, all the research conducted on beriberi and pellagra was full of medical failures, and the government was not interested in this issue at all. These diseases were treated similarly to the current Gulf War Syndrome. The misdiagnosis of these two diseases as microbial diseases emphasizes the importance of controlled experiments, scientific methods, and the responsibility of Apollo and its predecessors in the medical world. The responsibility for compassion and honesty is the most important of all.

    As a result of all these developments, the vitamin and supplementary food industries grew rapidly in the second half of the 20th century. The mystery and trustworthiness of vitamins have also created opportunities for fraudsters and charlatans who want to make money on them. In addition to their prescription use, vitamins are used as immune boosters in the treatment of all kinds of diseases.