Currently viewing the category: "vitamin C"

Brain Enhancing Healthy Foods

By On · Add Comment · In Alzheimer's disease, blood nutrients, brain, diet, elderly, junk food, nutrition, omega-3 fatty acids, trans-fats, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D deficiency

More bad news for junk food, as a recent study published in the journal Neurology shows that elderly people having higher levels of certain vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids in their blood score better on mental acuity tests than those who eat the junk.  Further, researchers found that eating better might even reduce the brain shrinkage associated with with Alzheimer’s disease. Booyah!

The study, conducted at Oregon State University, and one of the first of its kind, looked at 104 people at an average age of 87, and specifically measured a wide range of blood nutrient levels (instead of basing results on food questionnaires, which are less precise and less reliable).

“The vitamins and nutrients you get from eating a wide range of fruits, vegetables and fish can be measured in blood biomarkers,” said Traber Maret Traber, a principal investigator at the Linus Pauling Institute and study co-author. “I’m a firm believer these nutrients have strong potential to protect your brain and make it work better.”
Yes, so am I! I’ve been preaching for years. Always happy to see the science back up a universal truth–whole, natural foods are healing and health enhancing. We’ve gone through millions of years of evolution feeding ourselves the foods of the earth–can’t think of any Doritos shortages that challenged mankind, can you?
The principle vitamins they found to help neurological health are some of my personal favs–vitamins B, C, D and E, as well as the omega 3 fatty acids–which increased mental quickness and brain size.
Elderly people that had diets high in unnatural and unhealthy foods, like those laden with trans-fats, fared worse on cognitive tests. Although the researchers found that age and education had major effects on cognitive function and brain size, nutrient status accounted for 17% of the variation in scores, and 37% of the differences in brain volume.
Well, what can I say other than…been tellin’ ya. Eat well–it’ll take you far. This study looked at people with typical American diets–some good, some…well, not so much. But it’s not too late to make the switch–in fact, perfect time for the new year. 
I’ll leave it to study co-author Gene Bowman of the Oregon Health and Science University to conclude with, “It is very exciting to think that people could potentially stop their brains from shrinking and keep them sharp by adjusting their diet.” Indeed.

Essential Vitamins for Total Body Wellness

By On · Add Comment · In essential fatty acids, healthy diet, nutrients, nutritional health, nutritional supplements, sports chiropractic, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamins, whole foods

Vitamins are an important part of nutritional health, but they are not meant to stand alone.  Vitamins are to supplement a healthy diet, one rich in whole, natural foods.  However, I believe that receiving all the necessary nutrients from the diet alone, in this day and age, is nearly impossible.  To enjoy optimal health, then, supplementing with good vitamins is essential. 

Watch the video below to find out what I call the basics as far as vitamin supplements go.  You’ll also get a basic understanding of how each vitamin works to bring you optimal nutritional health.

For more on essential fatty acids, vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin D, you can check my chiropractic website to get the most up-to-date nutritional information.  And if you are looking for a nutritional consultation, you can call my Los Angeles sports chiropractic office to set one up.

When it comes to great health, your nutrition is vital; and supplementing with essential vitamins is the wisest choice to make.

Estrogen Creams Don’t Prevent Wrinkles

By On · Add Comment · In anti-aging, collagen, creams, estradiol, estrogen, skin, sun, sunscreen, vitamin C, wrinkles
Did I say in the last post that anti-aging creams don’t work? I’m sure that should piss off a lot of cosmetics pushers and anti-aging enthusiasts. But, well…it’s true.

According to a recent study conducted at the University of Michigan, estrogen creams do not reduce wrinkles, especially those caused by the sun. So throw out those estrogen-laced sunscreen ladies–they’re bunk! Oh wait, wait…don’t throw them out yet…appears that there is some use for them. The same study found that the estrogen creams did increase collagen production…in skin not exposed to the sun. Whoa. How’s that?

The study looked at 70 men and women aged 75 on average (some were in their early 50s). They applied , the major form of estrogen, on their hips, faces and forearms three times every other day for two weeks. Because the hips were for the most part covered from the sun, the estrogen-treated skin started producing more collagen. But no changes in the appearance of wrinkles were noted on the faces or forearms of the subjects.

So bad news for anti-wrinkling, but not so bad for collagen production. Collagen is the main protein in connective tissue and the most abundant in the body. It is responsible for skin strength and elasticity, and when it breaks down it can lead to wrinkling. When skin is damaged by the sun it stops producing collagen, which leads to dry wrinkled skin.

My advice: forget the estrogen-laced creams, stay protected from too much sun with sunscreen (talking from sunbathing here, not just being outside), and load up on the vitamin C (I recommend 1,000 mg a day minimum). Vitamin C is necessary for the synthesis of collagen, and quite frankly, many people are probably deficient in it. No, no, no…not RDA deficient (they recommend 75-90 mg/day to prevent illness), but optimal health deficient. And preventing wrinkling is just another reason to start supplementing. Don’t buy it? What have you got to lose? Vitamin C is affordable and it can’t harm you (it’s water soluble so you’ll just pee it out fluorescent green). There you have it–anti-aging made simple.

Vitamin C: Anti Cancer Nutrient

By On · Add Comment · In anti-cancerous, cancer, hydrogen peroxide, Linus Pauling, nutrient, nutritional, tumors, vitamin C

Great news coming out of the National Institute of Health: Researchers there have discovered that high doses on vitamin C decreased cancerous tumors in mice by 50%. The vitamin showed anti-cancerous effects on 75% of the cancer cell lines tested. Wow! And I remember a time when nutritional remedies were thought to be severely limited, at least in medical circles–and now this!

Vitamin C, or ascorbate, is an essential nutrient that acts as a cofactor in enzymatic reactions, an antioxidant, and is a major player involved in collagen formation. The anti-cancerous properties of vitamin C appear to be from the formation of hydrogen peroxide which surrounds the tumors in their extracellular matrix. The hydrogen peroxide is damaging to the cancer cells but leaves normal cells alone.

Researchers report that the high doses of vitamin C had to be administered by injection because taking mega-doses orally are actually regulated by the gut, and is therefore harder to reach the high concentrations needed to fight cancer. Saying this, however, high doses (up to 10 grams per day) taken orally can be quite beneficial prophylactically for people without cancer. This, at least, was Linus Pauling’s belief, and I happen to agree.

So if you are suffering from cancer, print the material I’ve linked to on this post and give it to your treating doctor. See if he or she will start administering high doses of vitamin C immediately. And if you aren’t a cancer patient, you can start taking high doses of vitamin C for you general health. Since it’s water soluble, it can’t hurt you (maybe a little diarrhea in the beginning, so increase incrementally). Many experts believe that increasing your vitamin C to optimal levels is the secret to preventing many of today’s chronic degenerative disorders. Now you know.

Check out this great vitamin C website, Cforyourself.

Healthiest Juices

By On · Add Comment · In antioxidants, black cherry, blueberry, concord grape, cranberry, DNA, free radicals, juice, Linus Pauling, minerals, pomegranate, The Six Keys to Optimal Health, UCLA, vitamin C, vitamins

Want to know the most healthy juices to drink? A UCLA study looked at the antioxidant levels of a number of fruit juices and came up with some exciting conclusions. When it comes to healthy juices, pomegranate is the best; it is highest in antioxidants.

Antioxidants are vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that neutralize free radicals. Free radicals are substances that can damage cells, tissues, and DNA. These harmful substances can lead to degenerative disorders like cancer, and they also speed up the aging process. As I point out in my book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health, “Free radicals are formed naturally in the body during certain metabolic processes as well as by cells of the immune system to fight infections. They can also be formed by outside agents like cigarette smoke, pollution, and radiation.”

Vitamins and minerals that act as powerful antioxidants are vitamins A, C, and E, and the mineral selenium. I highly recommend supplementing with these essential vitamins. I personally take 1,000 mg vitamin C per day. But I also think that taking 2,000 mg isn’t such a bad idea. In fact, the great chemist and forward-thinker, Linus Pauling, believed that people should be taking much more than that (check out this interview), especially people battling cancer.

A great source of antioxidants are fruits and vegetables–that’s why nutritionist recommend eating so many servings of each. But another great source is fruit juice: this is what makes these findings so exciting. So here you go–the list.

  1. Pomegranate juice–the healthiest of them all because it contains the most of every type of antioxidant.
  2. Concord Grape juice–a great source of antioxidants. May also be good for the heart and decrease blood pressure.
  3. Blueberry juice (yum, my favorite!)–contains antioxidants, fiber and vitamin C…and it’s blue, dammit.
  4. Black Cherry juice–some studies have shown this juice to reduce muscle soreness following exercise. Booyah!
  5. Cranberry juice*–can actually prevent urinary tract infections in women.

Enjoy, and start drinking your fruit juice. Remember, eating the whole fruit is always better, but for a big blast, fruit juices pack the antioxidants in. It also packs in the calories, so if you’re trying to lose weight, then definitely stick to the whole fruit. Otherwise, juice away!

*Please note that there is a huge difference between real juice and the juice cocktails sold in most grocery stores. If you want the real deal, please visit your local hippie store, they’ll take care of you. And if you are in L.A.–ask me, I can get you the good stuff.

Stinky, Yet Effective

By On · Add Comment · In Allicin, antioxidant, benign prostatic hypertrophy (BNP), blood clots, garlic, hydrogen sulfide, vitamin B, vitamin C
There’s an old Yiddish saying, “A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat.” How true that is. Garlic, that sweet, succulent spice–also known as Allium sativum–just melts in your mouth and makes every dish delicious. Yes, in some people it can cause malodor; but the benefits of eating garlic far outweigh its pungent effects.

This miracle herb has been the subject of folklore and legend, and it’s home remedy uses are very well known. But new research shows exactly why garlic is so beneficial–it boosts the body’s production of a compound that relaxes blood vessels, increases blood flow, and prevents blood clots and oxidative damage. The compound, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), is produced by blood vessels and red blood cells when they come into contact with the chemical constituents of garlic. The exact compound causing the release of H2S is as of yet unknown.

The fact that we do not yet know which chemical component causes this incredible health benefit illustrates a very important point–one which I very adamantly stress in my upcoming book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health–and that is: It’s always better to eat whole, natural foods than rely on man’s synthetic versions. And the reason I give is precisely because we don’t always know which constituents do what. Moreover, we don’t know if compounds must work in conjunction with one another or if several work within the same biochemical pathway. Therefore, you gotta eat the real deal.

Saying that, we do know the effects of some of garlic’s constituents. For example, Allicin, which gives garlic its hot, burning flavor, has powerful antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. It also helps fight arteriosclerosis, dissolves fat, and is a mild antioxidant. Another compound, Beta-sitosterol, lowers blood cholesterol and may be useful in fighting benign prostatic hypertrophy (BNP). Garlic also contains calcium, folic acid, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, and zinc. And to top it off, garlic is rich in vitamins B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin), B3 (Niacin), and Vitamin C.

Wow! Now tha-sa powerful.

Don’t You Just Hate When Mom is Wrong?

By On · Add Comment · In aging, antioxidant, cancer, chicken soup, collagen, common cold, conventional wisdom, degenerative diseases, free radicals, health, healthy blood vessels, healthy skin, natural, nutrient, vitamin C

Just another blow to conventional wisdom: A review of 30 published studies confirms it even further – vitamin C does nothing to fight the common cold. I know, I know, that’s not what Mom said. Take plenty of vitamin C along with chicken soup and you’ll beat that cold in no time. Also, don’t go out with your hair wet or without a jacket, you might catch cold. Didn’t mom tell you that one, too?

Well, I hate to be the one to discredit Mom, but researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland looked at people who took high-doses of vitamin C and found it did very little to reduce their risk of catching a cold (so small as to be clinically useless). Furthermore, it did nothing to reduce the duration of a cold or its symptoms.

That doesn’t mean vitamin C is useless, though. As I point out in my upcoming book – The Six Keys To Optimal Health – this nutrient is absolutely essential to achieving and maintaining great health. Vitamin C is a natural antioxidant, so it fights oxidizing free radicals, which can lead to aging and the development of many degenerative diseases, like cancer. It’s also an important player in the formation of collagen, so…that means healthy skin and healthy blood vessels and healthy joints and healthy ligaments and on and on and on. I think that vitamin C is so important that I believe, to have truly optimal health, you need to supplement with 1,000 mg per day.
But don’t feel badly for mom. She’s right about the chicken soup thing. I guess one out of two ain’t bad, now, is it?
Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.