It must be realized, that the amount of the Vitamin in fruits and vegetables varies greatly with the season of the year, the variety of the fruit or vegetable, its age and even the portion which is eaten — for example, a greater concentration of the vitamin is usually found in or next to the skin than in the pulp of the fruit, but in such vegetables as potatoes and spinach the vitamin remains constant throughout the growth period.
Recommended Dietary Allowances (R.D.A.) of ascorbic acid -Vitamin C for Australians — 1965 revision
Aged 18 to 75 years Aged 18 to 75 years Pregnant — 4 to 9 months Nursing mothers V% to 1 year
Men Women
Infants
Children 1 to 3 years
Boys 3 to 11 years 11 to 14 years 15 to 18 years
Girls 3 to 11 years 11 to 14 years 15 to 18 years
30 milligrams 30 milligrams 80 milligrams 100 milligrams 30 milligrams 30 milligrams 30 milligrams 40 milligrams 50 milligrams 30 milligrams 40 milligrams 50 milligrams per day per day per day per day per day per day per day per day per day per day per day per day
Although the Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin C varies in different countries from 30 to 60 milligrams a day, the actual needs of the body vary widely from person to person and with the circumstances of their life.
For some unknown reason women seem able to get along well with less than men.
This small amount of Vitamin C will certainly prevent scurvy from developing, but much more is needed in order to resist and combat infections and the poisons that abound in our environment; to meet demands of stress or injury; to hasten healing of wounds; to prevent arthrosclerosis and thrombosis and to ensure strong bones and teeth.
Dr Albert Szent-Gyorgi who, in 1928, first separated actual Vitamin C from the plant and animal tissues in which it occurs — for which he received a Nobel Prize — has this to say about the optimum amount of Vitamin C to take for good health.
‘As to ascorbic acid, right from the beginning I felt that the medical profession misled the public. If you don’t take ascorbic acid with your food you get scurvy, so the medical profession said that if you don’t get scurvy you are all right. I think this is a very grave error. Scurvy is not the first sign of the deficiency, but a pre-mortal syndrome (a condition just before death) and for full health you need much more.
‘I am taking, myself, about 1 gram a day. This does not mean that this is really the optimum dose, because we do not know what full health really means and how much ascorbic acid you need for it.
‘What I can tell you is that you can take any amount of ascorbic acid without the least danger.’
The optimum intake of ascorbic acid is not known because it differs with each person and with different circumstances and from day to day.
It is acknowledged that growing boys and girls, pregnant women and nursing mothers need more than others, but elderly people, because of slow absorption, need above average also. Let us take 1000 mg instead of 30 mg as a good daily average to keep normal healthy people healthy and normal in the inevitable exigencies of life.
Linus Pauling agrees with him. He states in his book, Vitamin C and the Common Cold —
‘First, for good health I recommend the ingestion of an adequate amount of ascorbic acid. I estimate that for many people 1 gram to 2 grams (1000 mg to 2000 mg) per day is approximately the optimum rate of ingestion.’ Best taken at intervals during the day.
One of the main features of Vitamin C is that it is non-toxic and large doses can be taken by mouth for long periods without ill effects, and large doses can be injected as sodium ascorbate when occasion demands, such as when the acid itself causes gastric irritation, diarrhoea or frequency and burning of urine. These symptoms occur in some sensitive individuals when too large doses are taken to begin with, or on an empty stomach.
If the dosage is built up gradually for the person who is not used to taking more than 50 milligrams a day — say by 250 milligrams a day for several days, then by 500 mg a day till the desired dose is reached, effects will not be noticed.
Vitamin C must always be taken in relation to a meal. Tablets swallowed whole ‘on an empty stomach’ can pass straight through and irritate the small bowel.
*9/21/7*
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