"C" Your Way to Long Life
V. Vemuri, Pleasanton, CA
Surveys have found that approximately every other American adult uses vitamin supplements occasionally, and every one in four uses them daily. Vitamin C is the most common among the supplements.
Scientists have so far identified 13 organic substances that are commonly labelled vitamins. Most important among these are vitamins A, B6, B12, Biotin, C, D, E, Folic acid, K, Niacin, and Pantothenic acid. These substances play a vital role in keeping the human body in good working order. Some of these substances are produced within the body. Vitamin D, for example, is manufactured within the skin during exposure to sunlight. Vitamin K, biotin and pantothenic acid are produced by the bacteria in the intestines. All other vitamins must be ingested. Without an adequate and regular supply of these vitamins, the body gets sick. But getting sick with a vitamin shortage is a thing of the past.
Today's vitamin problems are mainly due to their excessive use and misuse. Vitamin E has been popular due to its putative power to enhance sexual performance. In fact it seems that E is necessary to maintain normal fertility in lab animals. But we are not sure whether the same is true for humans. Many believe that vitamin A is a rejuvenator only because its close chemical relative Retin-A can give wrinkled, mottled skin a youthful glow.
Three of the vitamins, C, E and beta carotine, the chemical parent of A, are known as antioxidants. These are capable of neutralizing the toxic molecules, known as oxygen-free radicals. Although these "free radicals" are by-products of normal metabolism, they are also created by exposure to environmental agents like sunlight, X rays, ozone, tobacco smoke, and car exhaust fumes. Many believe that neutralizing free radicals is a first step toward conquering diseases and aging.
Indeed, a 1992 study by the UCLA School of Public Health appears to confirm a longstanding claim made by Nobel laurate Linus Pauling that large doses of vitamin C do play a significant role in reducing cardiovascular diseases and death. The research, headed by James E. Enstrom, also noted that high levels of antioxidant vitamins also reduce the rsik of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the blood vessels).