Day 135: Vitamin C

I feel as if I may have really hurt my knees as they continue to bother me. Although they are not swollen they both that the feeling I described yesterday in which it seems they are being wedged apart.  For this reason I decided to walk today rather than try to jog.  I leashed up Chloe and then Kelly, Chloe and I hit the street for a speed walk. 

The pace was good and again my knees felt better the longer I walked but this evening they started hurting again. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 30 Minute speed walk with Chloe

Kelly: 30 Minute gym workout 30 minute speed walk.

Vitamin C

It has long been considered the Super Vitamin since it has been proven to beneficial in protecting our overall health.  Vitamin C has a long list of vital functions it helps protect against including: Immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, eye disease, skin wrinkling, prenatal health problems, cancer, and stroke. 

Over the last 10 years there have been over 100 studies into the benefits of vitamin C.  Not only does the list of benefits grow as scientist study this vitamin but they are discovering more and more about how much we need as well.  It was originally thought that the body needed 75 to 90 milligrams daily.  Now, it is believed that 500 milligrams is a more ideal dosage and it is safe to take up to 2000 milligrams daily.  In order to reach this recommended daily allowance most people would need to add a supplement to their diets.

Foods that are high in Vitamin C include:

Oranges, juice: One cup – 97 mg

Red Peppers: ½ cup – 95 mg

Broccoli, cooked: 1 cup – 74 mg

Kiwi, medium: 1 – 70 mg

Green Pepper: ½ cup – 60 mg

Cantaloupe: 1 cup – 59 mg

Tomato juice: 1 cup – 45 mg

Unlike vitamin A, vitamin C is not stored in the body making overdosing a non-issue.  After the upper limit of 2000 mg is reached there is a possibility of upset stomach and diarrhea.  Vitamin C is easily absorbed by the body in both food and supplement forms and it enhances the absorption of iron when eaten or taken together.

Deficiencies of vitamin C are now rare.  We have all heard of scurvy, that is the condition of vitamin C deficiency it is characterized by weakness, anemia, bleeding, bruising, and loose teeth. 

In my research I found many more benefits for vitamin C including a study where researchers showed that taking 250 mg daily lowed blood pressure, it lowered blood glucose levels in diabetics, and it even decreased the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs in cancer patients.  Within the scientific community the importance of vitamin C is literally growing by the day.