For years I’ve had a debate with my sister, Kathy, regarding taking supplements. Kathy is no fan of supplements and believes it is better to get your vitamins and nutrients from fresh, healthy, whole foods. She has found that Vitamin C upsets her stomach.
I’ve long been a big fan of vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid, taking 500 mg regularly and quite a lot more after being exposed to a virus. But I recently found out that I may have been taking the wrong type of vitamin C all these years.
Vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid is a synthetic, chemically-derived product made primarily in China from sources including GMO corn, said Jae who uses no last name, a Certified Holistic Nutritionist at Eureka Market. She referred me to Wikipedia for the details of the chemical process for producing synthetic vitamin C.
Ascorbic acid used to be produced by companies around the world. But because of strong price competition, China is now estimated to produce about 80 percent of the ascorbic acid in the world. There have been concerns raised about how cost cutting can affect the safety and quality of some products imported from China.
And why use a synthetic product made in China when there is an affordable alternative made from plants? One product, Amalaki or Indian gooseberry, has been used in Ayurvedic medicine in India for thousands of years.
Jae said there are many benefits to the body from organic, food-derived vitamin C from plants.
“In addition to helping enhance the immune system, there are many other benefits we don’t realize,” Jae said. “It is also a critical tissue healer. It may help heal the gums as well as other mucosal linings such as those in the eyes, the lungs and the digestive track. When vitamin C is complete and food based, it offers many healing properties. Deficiencies in vitamin C are rampant and getting worse because chemically-derived vitamin C cannot supply the full nutritional spectrum.”
Jae agrees with my sister, Kathy: Synthetic supplements may do more harm than good. Jae said there is some evidence that chemically derived ascorbic acid may contribute to arterial damage. Research has also indicated that smokers are frequently vitamin C deficient.
Indian gooseberry can be purchased in capsules, but organic Indian gooseberry powder is also available online for about $25 for two pounds. Two other food-based options for non-synthetic vitamin C that Jae recommends are acerola cherry and camu camu, a fruit that has been shown to provide up to 30 times the vitamin C found in citrus fruit.
Camu camu also contains potassium, and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may be beneficial for the heart and arteries. Acerola cherry and camu camu are more expensive than Indian gooseberry, but can be purchased in bulk relatively cheaply.
Jae said research over this past year has affirmed the positive links between food-derived real vitamin C and bone support, making it an important consideration for women throughout their adult lives, especially those who may be at risk for osteoporosis. Other benefits include helping with susceptibility to bruising and poor wound healing, plus serving as a chelating agent in the removal of heavy metal toxins such as cadmium. Vitamin C is also a critical requirement for the production of collagen.
“Part of the reason Vitamin C is the go-to for a cold is its ability to repair soft tissue, including the mucosal lining of the gut where the immune system operates,” Jae said. “Dried out mucosal linings of sinus passages may hold onto airborne microbes unless adequate vitamin C is available. Nasal passages are more dried out in the winter due to: 1) The majority of people being at least partially dehydrated. 2) Cold air holds less moisture, so the atmosphere pulls moisture from the body. 3) Buildings are heated, which dries out body tissues and membranes.”
She suggests food-derived vitamin C to assist the immune system when dealing with potential infection.
“Food-derived vitamin C may offer anti-microbial properties and help activate natural killer cell activity,” she said. “It has been used extensively in cancer treatment and may help reduce the risk of stroke and myocardial infarction (heart attack). Research published in 2017 indicated that low vitamin C concentrations were found in people with cognitive impairment. Low vitamin C levels have also been indicated in recent research concerning Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and age-related cataracts. Since vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, the body releases it through natural elimination processes if you consume too much at one time.”
Additional food sources for Vitamin C include Kakadu plums, rose hips, chili peppers, guavas, kiwis, sweet peppers, black currants, mustard greens, spinach, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, strawberries and citrus fruits. The benefits of these foods are that they also contain many other vitamins and nutrients, as well as vital dietary fiber. Remember that prolonged storage or cooking can minimize the amount of vitamin C available in food.
And when vitamins are created from food, they are capable of being assimilated. As my sister, Kathy, says, “The body doesn’t recognize pills as food if they are chemically-derived.”