Dr. Gregory H. Tefft
Here are some answers to the many questions I've received lately about stages of stress, colds, and their relationship to Vitamin C. Being the cold and flu season in combination with holiday stress Vitamin C exhaustion is very commonplace.
THE STAGES OF STRESS:
There are three stages of stress and two general types of stress with five stress "instigators" as follows:
The Three Stages: Alarm, Resistance and Recovery
The Two Types:
Distress (negative, or any stress that increases the demands on the body and inevitably hurts the body)
Eustress (positive, or any stress which makes you feel good, like exercise, but which nonetheless places more demands on body functions.)
The Five Instigators:
All disease and sickness, nutrient deficiencies or excesses, accelerated growth and development (pregnancy ? childhood growth spurts etc.), physical trauma, emotional trauma, and toxic accumulation).
Each type, stage, and instigator increases the body's need for vitamin C and therefore taking more vitamin C can provide an added protection benefit. Vitamin C can minimize the damage from stress, including boosting the immune system to defend against colds.
VITAMIN C INTAKE RECOMMENDATIONS:
In actuality, each person is unique and therefore requires different vitamin C intake than the next for perfect results. (Knowing this exact, personal nutrient amount is the topic of
For Your Body Only.)
The clinically demonstrated range of need for this most important water soluble biological anti-oxidant, anti-antherogenic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-hypertensive, anti-viral, anti-histaminic, immunomodulatory, opthalmoprotective and airway-protector is 100 mgs. to 10,000 mgs. ? the actual level one needs is highly dependent on the person's age, drug intake, exercise levels, toxic accumulation, nutrient deficiencies and excesses, and of course, stress levels. By the way, an impending cold, or any infectious agent, is a large stress to the body.
As a clinical nutritionist for over 18 years, I would not recommend children or adults to ever drop below 110 mgs. per day as a supplement to a vitamin C rich diet ,because the food content of vitamin C is so variable nowadays.
SOURCES OF VITAMIN C:
The vitamin C content of vegetables and fruits is generally much lower than what it used to be years ago thanks to mass production farming, mineral depleted soils, genetically engineered seed stock, high toxin levels, improper processing storage, cooking, etc., etc. Nutrient losses in the food chain are highly documented in Senate documents #264 and #268 and from our testing lab research. So beware!
Contrary to popular belief, oranges are NOT the best source of vitamin C. There are 3 categories of foods categorized as Excellent, Good, and Fair based upon their vitamin C content.
NOTE: The government (not clinical) LOAEL (Lowest Observed Adverse Effect) is 3 grams or 3,000 mgs. and therefore has set the UL (Tolerable Upper Level Intake) at 2 gms. per day for those over 19 years.
OTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT VITAMIN C:
1. Unfortunately, medical doctors know very little about nutrition generally speaking. To achieve the perfect vitamin C intake, or any nutrient intake for that matter necessitates getting tested for vitamin and mineral needs via
home test kits as suggested in my books.
2. Definitely take 2 ? 3 times more vitamin C than usual when under stress and up to 10 grams per day if on the verge of a cold. But I wouldn't advise an elevated intake of this type for more than 10 days straight as it will interfere with the utilization of other nutrients over time.
3. In practice, I do not utilize time released vitamin C due to an inherent reduction in bioavailability which accompanies this type of supplement. It's best to take smaller amounts of bioflavanoid complex and/or low acid vitamin C through the course of the day. Since vitamin C is not readily excreted unless taken in large amounts, blood levels are usually kept stable using this format.
Stay well and enjoy the holidays!
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