Fitness

Scar tissue formed in healing wounds and injuries is a connective tissue made of collagen which depends on both vitamin C and calcium for strength. During the First World War it was noticed that wounds healed slowly or failed to heal unless fresh foods were eaten. Experiments prove that speed of healing and strength of the scar tissue are directly proportional to the vitamin-C intake. Operative patients deficient in this vitamin not only heal slowly, but their wounds frequently break open. When 4,000 milligrams or more of vitamin C has been given daily to such patients, the speed of healing is often dramatic. Medical journals have urged all physicians to recommend large amounts of this vitamin before and after surgery.

Vitamin C is especially important in the healing of broken bones. When it is lacking, a collagen bone base fails to form; hence the ends of the broken parts are unable to knit. Such abnormal healing occurs frequently in older persons whose diets are notoriously deficient in multiple nutrients. Bones heal readily at any age when an adequate diet is given and steps are taken to assure normal absorption. Protein, calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients, however, are equally as important as are large amounts of vitamin C.

Although not yet understood, vitamin C apparently plays a role in maintaining normal vision. In healthy eyes, the vitamin is concentrated in the lens; the vitamin is lacking or reduced in the lens of persons having certain types of cataract. Experimental cataracts have been produced by a restricted vitamin-C intake. Marked improvement in eye infections and inflammation of the eyes often follows when large amounts of vitamin C are taken.

This vitamin cannot be stored in the body. The tissues, however, can be saturated as a sponge might be saturated with water. The state of saturation, in which every cell has all of this vitamin it can use, is considered to be most compatible with health. After saturation occurs, any excess vitamin C obtained is promptly thrown off in the urine. The amount of vitamin C found in foods, blood, or urine can easily be measured. The tissues of seemingly healthy persons whose diets have been inadequate frequently soak up as much as 4,000 milligrams of this vitamin before any is excreted; this amount is equivalent to 40 glasses of fresh citrus juice. After saturation, the amount of vitamin obtained minus that lost in the urine gives the requirement for a particular day. By this method requirements of different people under various circumstances have been studied.

About 50 milligrams of vitamin C appears to be needed daily by the genuinely healthy adult to prevent scurvy, provided his tissues are already saturated; 75 to 100 milligrams is recommended by the National Research Council as the minimum intake. This amount can be supplied by a glass of fresh orange or grapefruit juice. The scurvy-preventing requirements of vitamin C appear to increase with advancing years, probably because absorption is often faulty and much of this vitamin is destroyed in the intestine when the stomach fails to produce normal amounts of hydrochloric acid. Studies show that the aged are appallingly deficient in this vitamin. Dr. Walter H. Eddy of Columbia University pointed out years ago that many signs considered typical of old age are actually symptoms of scurvy: wrinkles, or loss of elasticity of the skin; loss of teeth; brittleness of bones. Certainly the person who wishes to retain his youthfulness should see that his ascorbic-acid intake is ample.

The vitamin C in all plants is produced, by the aid of enzymes, under conditions of warmth and moisture at which the plant grows best. Unfortunately, the action of the enzymes is reversible; they can quickly destroy what they have made. After a food is harvested, the destruction of the vitamin occurs most rapidly under the same conditions as those at which the plant grew best, that is, in a heated market or a warm room. Furthermore, the enzymes destroy the vitamin by combining it with oxygen; hence, if a fruit or vegetable is peeled or chopped, the destruction is unusually rapid. The enzymes are kept inactive by refrigeration or are destroyed by heat at about 1400 F. Since the vitamin dissolves in water, much or all of it is lost when foods are washed slowly, soaked, or boiled. The average housewife, untrained in nutrition, is a genius at destroying vitamin C before the food can be swallowed.

For practical purposes, the best source of this vitamin is citrus fruits and juices. Fresh orange juice averages 130 milligrams for an eight-ounce glass; grapefruit and lemon and canned orange juice, about 100 milligrams. Frozen orange juice may be as rich as fresh or may contain little, depending on the type of oranges from which the juice came, the method of extraction, and the length of time it has been stored. Often culls, containing little vitamin C, are used for juice. In general, the sweeter oranges, to which no sugar need be added, have the highest vitamin-C content. Other juices, such as apple, pineapple, or grape, are not good sources, whether canned, frozen, or fresh. Tomato juice may supply 30 milligrams of vitamin C per glass or may contain none. A ripe pimiento or bell pepper or one California persimmon often contain 300 milligrams of vitamin C, whereas lh cup of guavas may supply 1,000 milligrams.

Tomatoes, both fresh and canned, all salad greens, fresh strawberries, and raw cabbage average 30 to 50 milligrams per serving. Green vegetables, such as spinach, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli, may be good sources, but 50 to 90 per cent is often lost in the water in which these foods are cooked. Apples, bananas, lettuce, potatoes, and peas may supply only 20 to 30 milligrams per serving but are important sources because of the quantities eaten. Foods such as butter, cheese, eggs, all breadstuffs, and dry beans lack ascorbic acid. Milk and cooked meat other than liver contain almost none.

Climate, soil, the degree of ripeness, storage, temperatures and methods of handling, cooking, canning or freezing all affect the vitamin-C content of foods. Little ascorbic acid is destroyed when foods are quickly frozen, but losses of 90 per cent may occur within an hour after the food has thawed. The variations are so great that tables of food analysis are of little value; hence they have been omitted.

Since citrus juices are the most dependable sources of vitamin C, a glass should be drunk daily by every child and adult. It is wise to serve a fresh salad at each lunch and dinner and to have appetizers of fresh fruit on the menu frequently. Studies have shown that people living on the Pacific Coast buy three times more vitamin C on the same budget than do those on the Atlantic Coast. Even today when frozen foods are widely used, fewer vitamin-C deficiencies occur in summer and fall when fresh foods are available than in winter and spring. This deficiency is especially common among the poor of all ages and the aged of all economic groups. If care is given to the purchase and preparation of food and the planning of menus, adequate vitamin C can be obtained even when little money is available.

The changes in collagen breakdown can be swift, harmful, and hidden. For this reason, a bruise should be interpreted as a danger signal, indicating that more vitamin C should be added immediately to your diet.