Most people know that Vitamin C is great for colds, but did you also know that it plays a tremendous role in heart health? With our focus this month on healthy hearts I thought it would be fun to share a few facts regarding this incredible supplement.

- Vitamin C helps prevent arterial inflammation and plaque.

- It helps enhance the body’s level of natural glutathione (glutathione is a potent free-radical scavenger known to prevent coronary artery disease.)

 - Vitamin C is crucial for the synthesis of collagen, a part of the connective tissue that strengthens your blood vessel walls. When these walls become irritated they are more likely to allow plaque build-up, permitting noxious toxins to cause inflammatory reactions in the vascular lining.

- Helps repair connective tissue and cartilage thereby contributing to healthy blood vessels.

- At higher doses Vitamin C can help patients coping with arterial fibrillation (AF), the most common kind of arrhythmia.

So, how much Vitamin C is safe to take on a daily basis?

- Most research supports Vitamin C intake of around 200 to 300 mg per day, which for the average person is definitely in the safe zone. In fact, for many people doses below 1,000 mg are probably safe although the research is not as conclusive for this intake level.

- Some researchers, such as the great Linus Pauling, suggest 10,000 mg or more daily for optimum health.  For instructions on determining your own need see our blog on the Vitamin C Flush.

Excellent food sources of vitamin C include: parsley, broccoli, bell pepper, strawberries, oranges, lemon juice, papaya, cauliflower, kale, mustard greens, and Brussels sprouts. Marilyn Farms also offers Vitamin C in a variety of formulas including chewable, powder, and Vitamin C 1000. tablets. Visit our website to learn more and take advantage of our February special on this heart-healthy supplement.

Iowa Gardens are in full production and a group of us recently had a great opportunity to work with Annie and learn a new way to preserve produce from our gardens and local markets. While enjoying a warm summer day, surrounded by friends, we made fermented or cultured veggies and not only learned a great new way to preserve food, but also how to enhance the nutritional value of winter veggies such as cabbage and root vegetables.

Most of you are probably aware of one  popular cultured vegetable, sauerkraut.  But the art of fermenting veggies goes way beyond cabbage, enabling you to create your own colorful and delicious masterpiece.   Here are a few fun facts to consider as you prepare to make your own first batch.

• Cultured foods have been used since ancient times for their medicinal benefits.
• Captain Cook sailed with large barrels of sauerkraut which supplied his crew with vitamin C and prevented scurvy.
• When vegetables are cultured, the Lactobacillus acidophilus and other beneficial bacteria break down the sugars and cell walls in the vegetables making them much easier to digest.
• Our gut is directly connected to our immune system. When we consume cultured veggies on a regular basis, we strengthen our immunity by enhancing the flora of our gut. This beneficial flora not only fights off dangerous invaders such as microbes and pathogens, but also produces vitamins and converts nutrients into neurotransmitters such as serotonin.
• Cultured veggies are said to have hundreds of times the amount of nutrients as veggies that have not been cultured. Simply eating a few bites of something fermented with your meals will not only help you digest your meals, but will also promote good energy and health.

Okay, time to get started! Click here for the ingredients and instructions – it’s easy and fun!

Last week I started to get symptoms of the flu-like plague that has spread like wildfire through almost everyone I know.  Most people that experienced it told me it lasts anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks and to just brace myself for misery.  Being the scientist that I am, I decided to use this misfortune as an opportunity to do an experiment on myself.  I have been reading a lot about vitamin C lately and decided to see whether it shortened the duration of this dreaded cold.

My main complaint during this time was being so congested that I couldn’t sleep.  Coincidentally, I found that when I started my experiment by taking 1,000 mg of powdered vitamin C dissolved in a little bit of water mixed with apple juice my congestion was immediately relieved for about 30 minutes.  This dose is on the high end to take all at once, but I wanted to take it further and actually find out how much vitamin C I needed (our bodies need more when we’re sick or under stress) by undergoing a protocol called a “Vitamin C Flush”.  Here is a link to the instructions that I followed:

http://www.perque.com/pdfs/Pt_Ascorbate_Slush_FIN.pdf

The vitamin C which I used, and which is the best type of vitamin C for most people to use for this protocol is a fully-reduced, buffered vitamin C powder such as the one we sell at Marilyn Farms (Vitamin C Powder).

Without giving away too much info, I wanted to share with you that in order to get the…desired result…I had to take 25,000 mg of vitamin C over the course of 24 hours.  That is a LOT more than it normally takes me when I do a flush, which showed me that my body really needed the extra boost.  I was able to beat the 3-week flu in 2 days, and I credit that to vitamin C!

NOTE: Please talk to your physician before making any dietary or supplement changes.  This blog is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner.