Why We Need Vitamin C
Man vs. Animal
Most people know that vitamin C is considered an essential nutrient that our bodies need to ensure good health. What most people don’t know is that the human body cannot produce or “synthesize” its own vitamin C. While the vast majority of other animals can synthesize large quantities of vitamin C in their bodies every day, for some reason, we can’t.
Therefore, in order to obtain the vitamin C our bodies need, we must obtain it daily through our diet (from fruits, juices and other foods) and/or through the use of a vitamin C supplement, such as Altrient® C. If we do not obtain a certain minimum daily amount, adverse health effects can occur. A severe vitamin C deficiency can result in scurvy, which, if left unchecked, can be fatal.
How Much Vitamin C is Enough?
This question is the subject of much debate. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have established a common standard for “the average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97%-98%) healthy individuals.” This NIH Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin C is 75 mg for women and 90 mg for men.
Yet, each human body has a unique configuration of weight, metabolism, body structure and body composition. And each has its own unique nutritional needs. Can the same 75 or 90 mg RDA “meet the nutrient requirements” of a bodybuilder, as well as a couch potato? What is the definition of a “healthy individual?” In the human race where each individual is so different from the next, is it even possible that “one size fits all?”
There are dozens of scientific studies that support the RDA and dozens, if not hundreds more that suggest a minimal vitamin C requirement might not ensure optimal health. In any case, while this argument has raged for a few decades, it seems that Mother Nature reached her conclusion a long time ago.
Each day, most animals, from cats and dogs to elephants and whales, synthesize large amounts
of vitamin C. These amounts are in proportion to their body weight. By “large,” we mean anywhere between 2,000 mg and 10,000 mg per 150 pounds of body weight. They also consume, by comparison, minimal quantities of additional vitamin C in their normal, daily diet, just as
humans do.
Why would animals that consume minimal quantities of vitamin C still synthesize large quantities of their own vitamin C unless they needed it to ensure optimal health? Do humans need more vitamin C than we know? What does Mother Nature understand that we don’t?
A Common Sense Approach to Vitamin C Dosage
Your car requires coolant to operate. The manufacturer recommends a maximum coolant level that enables your car to operate at peak performance. Of course, you can still drive your car with a minimum level of coolant, but you’d be running the risk that the whole thing could one day suddenly seize up and grind to a halt. Common sense dictates that if you want to protect your car and your investment, if you want to ensure your personal freedom of movement, you should follow the manufacturer’s advice and keep the coolant level topped-off at all times.
Yes, the NIH recommends an “average daily level” of vitamin C. But it has also issued a Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) of vitamin C. For men and women ages 19 and older, this UL is 2,000 mg per day. Obtaining this level of vitamin C from your daily diet would be difficult if not impossible. However, high-performance Altrient® C can easily achieve this level and beyond without the side effects that ordinary vitamin C can produce.
Why run the risk of not having enough essential vitamin C in your body? Why miss the opportunity for your body to perform at a higher level? Why argue with Mother Nature?
Know Your AGE
Glycation 101
Glycation is the body’s continuous process of breaking down or “metabolizing” sugar. During this process, the energy in the sugar is released to power various body functions and what remains as waste is known as “glycation end-products.”
There are three types of glycation end products: early, intermediate and advanced. While the body can counter the formation of early and intermediate glycation end-products, once Advanced Glycation End-products (AGE) are formed they are virtually impossible to reverse and eliminate from the body. These harmful, tar-like molecules stick together in globs within cells and tissues throughout the body. As AGE accumulates over time it can:
- Make normally supple body structures stiff and brittle
- Cause inflammation and tissue damage in joints
- Obstruct neural pathways in the brain
- Impair nerve function and sensitivity, and interrupt essential communication between cells
- Contribute to plaque buildup in arteries and damage delicate capillaries, especially in the kidneys and eyes
As a result, the cumulative effects of AGE can have a profound, negative impact on almost every aspect of your health. As you grow older, your ability to move, think and heal – everything a younger body can easily accomplish – requires greater effort and energy.
The Natural Solution
In recent decades, the problems associated with AGE have been compounded due to the enormous increase in the amount of refined sugar in our daily diets. With so much extra sugar to burn, our bodies are churning out more AGE, causing more damage at a much faster rate.
Common sense suggests that we should reduce our intake of highly “glycemic” refined sugars and flours. However, controlling your diet alone will not stop the formation and accumulation of AGE. The optimal solution would include a potent dietary supplement that naturally prevents AGE from forming in the first place.
Research has shown that B vitamins play a critical role in blocking AGE formation. Benfotiamine, derived from vitamin B1 (thiamine), and pyridoxamine, derived from vitamin B6, are regarded as the two most powerful natural AGE inhibitors. Benfotiamine is 430% more effective than regular thiamine. Pyridoxamine is almost as potent as benfotiamine.
Naturally, Altrient® ME™ is loaded with benfotiamine and pyridoxamine, as well as other important nutrients that all work together to produce more energy from the glycation process and reduce the formation of AGE. Why not maximize your body’s fuel efficiency? Why not give yourself a safe, all-natural energy boost that can power your body all day long? Why let AGE continue to pile up and bog down the only body you have?
