Is "vitamin C" really a vitamin?

 After 40 years of research, Dr. Irwin Stone stated his conclusion that an ancient genetic mutation left the primate virtually alone among animals in not producing ascorbic acid in his own body. By labeling ascorbic acid a "vitamin" and attaching to it a "minimum daily requirement," most people exist in a state of sub-clinical scurvy-the symptoms of which are attributed to other ailments. By the 1950s Dr. Stone's work with ascorbates had explained the success of Dr. Klenner's use of ascorbic acid to treat polio. By the 1960s, Dr. Stone's work had attracted the attention of Nobel laureate Dr. Linus Pauling . Dr. Pauling was then able to successfully apply "mega-ascorbate therapy" to a variety of ailments-including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
The answer is to change our thinking about vitamin C-which is really a metabolite that is essential to health and healing at the molecular level. Dr. Stone's foundational research has provided us with the knowledge to ward off disease, counteract the ill effects of pollution and prolong our lives-easily and inexpensively.

Vitamin C is not just for colds
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble nutrient and powerful anti-oxidant. A primary function of vitamin C is maintaining collagen, a protein necessary for the formation of connective tissue in skin, ligaments and bones. It is essential in healing wounds, fractures and burns since it facilitates the formation of connective tissue and in the prevention and treatment of artherosclerosis and high blood pressure. Vitamin C also aids in forming red blood cells, strengthens blood vessels and prevents hemorrhaging.

In his book "Nutrition Against Disease," Dr. Roger Williams observed, "Collagen is not only the most abundant protein in our bodies, it also occurs in larger amounts than all other proteins put together. It cannot be built without vitamin C. No heart or blood vessel or other organ could possibly perform its functions without collagen. No heart or blood vessel can be maintained in healthy condition without vitamin C."

How much vitamin C do we need?
Vitamin C is most well-known for its use as a preventative for the common cold and flu. Thousands can attest to the fact that taking several grams of vitamin C throughout the day for the next couple of days after the onset of a cold or flu minimizes the symptoms and speeds up recovery. The reason is that vitamin C enhances immunity. High blood levels of ascorbic acid have been shown to protect against a myriad of infections, free radicals, the harmful effects of pollution and even cancer.

Vitamin C is also called an "anti-stress" vitamin since it is essential in the formation of adrenaline. Large concentrations of ascorbic acid are found in the adrenal glands. During times of high stress, the level of adrenal ascorbic acid is rapidly used up.

Signs of deficiency

Scurvy, the disease caused by severe vitamin C deficiency, is marked by a failure of strength, general restlessness and rapid exhaustion. The final stages of scurvy are marked by profound exhaustion, diarrhea, and lung and kidney ailments.

Most people today suffer from what is known as "sub-clinical" scurvy. Bleeding gums, swollen or painful joints, slow-healing wounds and fractures, bruising, nosebleeds and impaired digestion are a few of the obvious signs of vitamin C deficiency. Less obvious signs include susceptibility to bacterial and viral infections, arthritis, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, various autoimmune diseases and cancer.

In the early 1900s, a disease known as Barlow's disease occurred in bottle-fed infants and was characterized by broken bones, bruises, and sores that wouldn't heal. Pasteurization (and heating of any kind) destroys the vitamin C in milk and mothers did not know the importance of supplementing their babies' diet with fresh orange juice as a source of vitamin C. Today we have many cases of Barlow's disease among formula-fed infants whose meager vitamin C reserves are depleted with each vaccine administered. Only today Barlow's disease has been renamed Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Note: At this time we have relatively unfettered access to vitamin C and other vitamins, herbs and supplements. But organized medicine is pushing global governments, including the U.S., to regulate these products like drugs.

Good Food = The Basics

Every solution is either acidic or alkaline. (Alkaline is often called "base.") These solutions can be anything from body fluids, such as stomach acid and blood, to beverages, such as wine or coffee, to sea water. Acidity and alkalinity are measured in pH (potential of hydrogen). The pH scale goes from 0 to 14, with 0 the most acidic, and 14 the most alkaline. The pH of stomach acid is 1, wine is 3.5, water is 7 (neutral), venous blood is 7.35, arterial blood is 7.4, sea water is 8.5, and baking soda is 12. Ideally, our pH should stay on the alkaline side: between 7.35 and 7.45.

Keeping our acidity and alkalinity balanced means regulating the hydrogen ion concentration in our body fluids. An acid is a molecule or ion (an ion is an atom that carries a positive or negative electric charge) that can contribute a hydrogen ion to a solution. An alkalizing substance is one that contains a molecule or ion that combines with hydrogen ions to remove them from a solution_it neutralizes acids and acts as a buffer.

The Misconceptions

Foods are classified as acid-forming or alkalizing depending on the effect they have on the body. An acid-forming food contributes hydrogen ions to the body, making it more acidic. An alkalizing food removes hydrogen ions from the body, making it more alkaline. It is important to note that this classification is based on the effect foods have on the body after digestion, not on their own intrinsic acidity or alkalinity (or how they taste to us). A common misconception is that if a food tastes acidic, it has an acid-forming effect on the body. This is not necessarily true. Very often, an acidic-tasting food is alkalizing. Citric fruits are a good example. People say that lemons, for example, are "too acidic"; however, they are actually alkalizing because the minerals they leave behind after digestion help remove hydrogen ions, decreasing the acidity of the body. (Many people use the term "residue" or "ash" to explain the effect of a food on the body. A food with an acid ash after digestion contributes hydrogen ions, making the body more acidic; a food with an alkaline ash after digestion removes hydrogen ions, making the body more alkaline.)

Another misconception is that acid-forming foods are "bad." This is not correct; acidity and alkalinity are opposites and one is not intrinsically better than the other. This misconception has developed because the North American diet is excessively acidic, which does result in health problems.