All About the C's
Its the start of spring and we are entering the second quarter of the year. Busy schedules and a lot of hard work for most of us due to the current economic slow down that is happening worldwide. In the hustle and bustle of keeping up with the rat race, it is really important to keep our health intact to meet up with our expectations. So for the next couple of weeks, I will be explaining about vitamins, minerals and supplements required for the body to function better.
Let's start with the big C. Vitamin C is a very important nutrient for our body. Humans are the only mammals in the world that does not produce their own vitamin C. Other animals produce C's internally and it plays a major role in their immune system and survival. Because of this, we need to consume vitamin C's on a regular basis to keep our stores up.
In humans, the benefits of vitamin C has been established more and more. It is involved in the formation of certain proteins to make skin, bones, cartilage and blood vessels. It is also useful in wound healing and formation of scar tissue, repair and maintenance of bones, cartilage and teeth, and it also aids iron absorption.
It also plays a strong role in aiding the immune system and helps alleviate colds, flus and otehr viral illnesses. Historically, it was used to avoid scurvy but nowadays, this problem is relatively rare due to reduced long sea travels. It is also used to maintain gum health, treatment of acne, treatment of bronchitis, H. pylori bacter related stomach ulcers, control of HIV, treat tuberculosis, dysentry, skin infections and help in curing infections of the bladder and prostate.
Recent studies also shown the benefits of Vitamin C in relation to brain functions. It helps reduce depression, Alzheimer's disease, reduce physical and mental stress, improve concentration, improve ADHD and reduce fatigue. It has also shown in a study recently that it reduces heart rate during exercise and reduces the perception of fatigue and exertion.
Latest studies also show that it aids in heart disease and diabetes by improving endothelial functions and reducing inflammation thus improving the outcome. However, you will need to take more than 500mg daily in order to see the benefits. With improved endothelial functions, there is a reduced risk of artherosclerotic disease which is involved in stroke and heart disease.
Other benefits of Vitamin include improves glaucoma, prevent cataracts, prevent gall bladder disease, relieves constipation, improves dental caries, improves Lyme disease, helps with heat stroke, hay fever, asthma, cyctic fibrosis, infertility, chronic fatigue syndrome, autism, collagen disorders, arthritis and bursitis, back pain and disc swellings and improves osteoporosis.
High doses of vitamin c has also been used in alternative cancer treatments and as adjuncts to chemotherapy to reduce chemotoxic effects and has shown to improve patient outcomes. It is also an anti-aging supplement that helps reduce signs on aging, whetehr applied topically, consumed or given IV.
The next popular question that I normally get is how to take the vitamin. Well, for skin problems, the best is to apply topically. If you can get a 'medical grade' vitamin C more than 20% concentration it would definitely benefit your skin by reducing wrinkles after 6 weeks of diligient bidaily application of serum. If you notice I purposely highlighted medical grade, because a lot of cosmetic skin care claim to have more than 20% vitamin C inside their products but in actual fact, when you test them most don't even hit 10%. Sometimes, they put 20% concentration prior to manufacturing and after processing, the vitamin C being a water soluble vitamin, the percentage reduces. If you want to try a good medical grade Vitamin C serum, we do carry a few brands.
The next easiest method is to consume orally. However, most people do not realize that the gut can only absorb 600mg of Vitamin C per 4-6 hours and this also depends on how good your digestive system is. Most Malaysians have really bad digestive system due to diets high in fats and carbohydrate and lack of fiber. We also have a lot of irritable bowel syndromes and leaky gut syndromes which causes poor absorption in the gut. Now with our hair profiler system, we can screen for leaky gut syndrome and improve your gut health with just a simple test. The other issue with concuming orally is the form of vitamin C that you are consuming. Some believe L-ascorbate is the best form to take, the clinical data on it is scarce. And at the end of the day, how much vitamin C can the body actually absorb in a day? Maybe 2 grams. However, really high doses of vitamin C taken orally can cause nausea, diarhoea and abdominal discomfort.
Some medical practitioners advocate intravenous vitamin C in high doses for immune curve shifting. This is to avoid gut wastage of the C's and deliver accurate high doses. The idea has been used for many years in treating people with cancer and severe immune problems and now some are advocating as an anti-aging regime. Personally, I did try 10gms of vitamin C over 30 minutes with a combination of glutathione 600mg, ALA and B Complexes. The infusion was a little bit uncomfortable despite being diluted with normal saline, and I felt stiff in the arm during the infusion process. Immediate effect for me was actually lethargy but I noticed improvements in my skin tone, pigmentation and feel. Immune wise, I guess I improved, because my sinuses improved without needing antibiotics. However, one off therapy wouldn't be sufficient and usually you will need a course to achieve a good concentration. Being water soluble, the vitamin gets excreted out by 3-7 days. However, the high dose concentration for a few hours is what gives the body that extra boost to jumpstart the immune system.
Regardless, if you are unsure or planning to start high dose vitamin C regimes, please consult a medical practitioner that is well verse in the indications, contra indications and side effects. There are some contra indications to the use of high dose vitamin C that you will need to discuss with your doctor to ensure it is safe for you.
For more information please email us at drmmclinic@gmail.com or call us at 03-21106608 or send a msg to 0123301585.
