60 Seconds on Vitamin C

Greetings from Dr. T:

Scientists wanted to find out what in foods prevented scurvy. The answer, it seemed, was ascorbic acid because when it was given, people did not get scurvy. However, in nature, ascorbic acid does not exist alone. It is always found with many other compounds such as rutin, flavonoids, amino acids, ascorbate oxidase, and tyrosine, all necessary to completely prevent or cure scurvy or other vitamin C deficiencies.

Dr. Rui Hai Liu, Ph.D., found that half a cup of apples had a vitamin C activity equivalent to 1,500 mg of ascorbic acid, yet it contained only 5.7mg of actual ascorbic acid. The effect was due to the sum of the compounds found in the apple, not just the ascorbic acid. The effect of the vitamin c complex is much greater than the isolated compound of ascorbic acid. The combination of nutritional factors in food is more than the sum of its parts.

Vitamin C has promise in the prevention of cancer, normalizing cholesterol levels, and reducing degenerative diseases and cellular damage.

So, what does this mean? Do not take vitamins that are not complete foods. That is why we use Standard Process supplements -- they harvest organic food, dry it, and compress it into pills. You get whole food with all of its healing components intact. Do not waste your money and your health on something that isn’t the very best for you.

Dr. Thorburn is a Registered Nurse and a Doctor of Chiropractic. She also has advanced training in nutrition.