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Poly C
TM
Seven reasons to see more C!
Like guinea pigs and chimpanzees, we humans are some of the
few animals in the world that can’t make our own vitamin C.
And, because this delicate vitamin is water-soluble and can’t be
stored in large amounts by your body, it’s important to get some
vitamin C every day.
Seven reasons why your body needs vitamin C
Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C has many roles and is essential for a
healthy body. It has:
1. Immune system boosting benefits
Vitamin C is best known for its immune system boosting effects, specifically
fighting infections like colds. And, although enjoying a diet that’s rich in vitamin
C can’t stop you from catching a cold, taking a vitamin C supplement may help
to reduce the severity and duration of a cold. A large study showed that although
taking a vitamin C supplement doesn’t seem to make much difference to couch
potatoes, if you do exercise – even if you exercise briefly – taking C in supplement
form could actually halve your risk of catching a cold and speed up recovery, too.
Part of the way that vitamin C does this is by encouraging white blood cells (which
protect the body from infection) to increase in number. Vitamin C is concentrated
in white blood cells. Plus it boosts the production of antibodies.
According to animal studies, it also raises the level of interferon. When the viruses
that cause colds and flu enter the cells, they take them over, turning cells into
tiny flu-producing factories. Interferon is one of your body’s anti-viral defence
mechanisms. It surrounds cell surfaces helping to prevent pathogenic (harmful)
viruses from entering them. Vitamin C can repair and protect cells, too, so it’s
important for wound healing. And because it has an antihistamine action, vitamin
C may be able to lessen the unpleasant effects of colds such as congestion
inflammation, stuffy nose and aches.
2. Antioxidant action
With its powerful antioxidant action, vitamin C protects the body from free
radicals that can cause oxidative stress. Sometimes called cellular rust, oxidative
Go for two and five!
Government experts recommend
we all aim to eat around two fruits
and five servings of veggies every
day for good health. Opt for a
rainbow of different coloured
produce and you’ll benefit from
a wide mix of nutrients – plant
pigments, minerals and satisfying
fibre. Fresh fruits and veggies
are also rich in vitamins including
vitamin C.
Because it is easy to destroy
delicate vitamin C (exposure to air
destroys it and boiling/cooking
can mean that it leaches out
into the cooking water and/or is
destroyed by heat). That’s why
choosing raw or lightly cooked
fruit and veggies is a good way to
help retain more of the delicate
vitamins. Remember, though,
that cooking actually makes
other nutrients more available to
the body, such as beta carotene
from red and orange coloured
produce.
stress involves build-up of harmful free radicals and this has been linked with a range
of chronic conditions from heart disease and stroke to some cancers.
Aim for around five to six servings of fruit and vegetables daily. This provides vitamin
C plus a wide range of healthful plant pigments, vitamins and minerals.
3. Skin paybacks
Vitamin C is essential for building and maintaining collagen and connective tissue.
Collagen is the main structural protein in connective tissue. Connective tissue
structurally supports and strengthens muscles, teeth, bones, skin and blood vessels.
Collagen supports tissues and organs including the skin. Your body needs vitamin C
to make collagen. So, getting enough helps to ensure that your skin is elastic. Stress
can take its toll on your whole body including your skin. When you feel stressed, the
stress hormone cortisol triggers inflammation and this breaks down collagen. And
since collagen helps to keep your skin plump and firm, signs of stress may be visible
in your complexion.
4. Benefit for smokers
Inhaling just one puff of cigarette smoke introduces three trillion free radicals
directly into the lungs. You can’t feel the damage this is doing because the lungs
don’t have nerve cells. But, when free radicals come into contact with lung tissue,
it triggers damage including inflammation. Smoking uses up your body’s very tiny
stores of vitamin C as well as other nutrients. It also causes the skin to constrict
so that less oxygen and nutrients are able to feed and protect your skin. This is
one reason that skin looks older, faster if you smoke. Getting enough vitamin C
helps to support skin suppleness and elasticity because it helps to boost collagen
production. It also maintains the health of your capillaries, so that oxygen and
nutrients can reach the cells of the body including skin cells. If you smoke, though,
the best thing you can do for your health is to stub out the habit.
5. Iron absorbing features
The mineral iron is a major component of the oxygen-carrying protein in the blood
called haemoglobin. When taken with a meal, vitamin C helps your body to naturally
absorb iron. This is whether the iron comes from animal sources (meat and fish) or
from vegetarian sources (like peas, beans and legumes and wholegrains).
6. Stress attacking functions
Fast-paced 21st century living takes its toll on your stress levels and raised stress
hormones deplete vitamin C in your body. In fact vitamin C is the first nutrient to be
depleted in alcoholics, smokers and people who are obese. Vitamin C is a potent
free radical scavenger and these reactive compounds are produced as a by-product
of metabolism. High levels of free radicals can be triggered by pollution, poor diet
(too many fast, fatty, sugary foods and drinks), alcohol and cigarette smoke.
7. Vitamin E preserving effects
Vitamin C can also regenerate other disease-fighting antioxidants in the body,
including alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E). So, this water-soluble free radical fighter
helps to preserve the fat soluble vitamin, (free radical) fighter boosting your body’s
self defence systems.
7
reasons
why your body
needs vitamin C
Immune system
boosting benefits
Antioxidant action
Skin paybacks
Benefit for smokers
Iron absorbing features
Stress attacking
functions
Vitamin E preserving
effects
21st century scurvy?
Top sources of
vitamin C
Not getting enough vitamin C (less than 10mg or so per day) for around three
months or so can trigger the vitamin C deficiency disease, scurvy. Signs and
symptoms include fatigue and gum inflammation, joint pain, and poor wound
healing, anaemia and tooth loss.
Before the eighteenth century, scurvy was common in sailors when fresh fruits and
vegetables weren’t available on long sea voyages. Once it became known that
limes and other citrus fruits could be stored for long periods and would prevent
the condition, British sailors regularly used limes to prevent scurvy. Hence the term
‘limeys.’
Once consigned to the history books, scurvy made a comeback during and after
World War II because of severe food rationing. Surprisingly, though, cases of scurvy
are being reported today in the present day UK.
Dietitians in South Wales, UK, blame the resurgence of scurvy to eating too many
takeaway and microwave meals and not eating nearly enough fresh fruit and
vegetables. Dietitian Sioned Quirke who works in the Rhondda Valley in South Wales
said: ‘The difference between now and then is that this is out of choice. People say
that fruit and vegetables are not affordable when in fact they are.’ Sioned blames
fast food for the rise of scurvy.
In adults, the symptoms of scurvy include:
• Tiredness (your body does not have enough oxygen triggering fatigue)
• Pain in the limbs, mainly the legs
• Small red-blue spots on the skin
If untreated, scurvy can cause jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes), oedema (swelling
caused by a build-up of fluid) and potentially fatal heart problems. Recently, parents
of an eight-year-old boy who died allegedly died of scurvy fronted court charged
with neglect and suspicion of death due to scurvy.
Could you do with a little more vitamin C?
Spacing is essential
With regular vitamin C supplements, its best to space them throughout the day.
Because it is water-soluble, excess vitamin C is excreted from the body via urine. Poly
CTM is different because it contains a range of forms of vitamin C. This means that
the blood levels of vitamin C remain raised for longer if you take vitamin C as Poly C
compared with regular products. It also contains citrus bioflavonoids which help your
body cells absorb and use vitamin C.
Everyone has different biochemistry and unique lifestyles. The amount of vitamin
C needed daily for optimal performance is directly related to individual diet,
absorption, utilisation, metabolism, excretion, work environment, and physical,
mental, and environmental stress.
You many need a supplement if:
• Y
ou smoke or you are around second-hand cigarette smoke. Smoking depletes
the body of the tiny stores of vitamin C it contains and increases the need for
antioxidants because it introduces free radicals to the body. The more you
smoke, the more vitamin C you lose from your cells and blood, so a supplement
is needed.
• If you have a very limited diet. Today’s high-speed lifestyles mean that many
of us rely on grabbing ready-made meals, fast foods and takeaways – high on
convenience and low in nutrition.
• If you have certain medical conditions such as difficulty in absorbing nutrients.
1 cup red capsicum 175mg
1 cup broccoli 125mg
(lightly steamed)
One grapefruit 100mg
1 cup Brussels sprouts 95mg
(lightly steamed or microwaved)
1 cup strawberries 80mg
One medium orange 70mg
One kiwi fruit 55mg
One medium tomato 35mg
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 30mg
One average potato 30mg
Two tablespoons fresh parsley 10mg
So how do I know if my vitamins are broken down
and being absorbed?
References
A brand that follows pharmaceutical-grade GMP is a good way to ensure high quality.
Get to know USANA’s Poly C™
•
A unique blend of mineral ascorbates
•
Provides 600mg of vitamin C per tablet for enhanced antioxidant protection
•
Strengthens the immune system, supports the synthesis of collagen.
Why Poly C™?
Poly C is a balanced formulation of mineral ascorbates with vitamin C activity. By
using a variety of ascorbates, USANA’s Poly C is able to affect vitamin C levels in
the body. An in-house clinical trials showed that when equal amounts of vitamin
C were provided as either Poly C or ascorbate acid, the Poly C gave higher levels
of vitamin C in blood serum and maintained those higher levels for a longer time.
Poly C is laboratory tested, potency guaranteed. Meets British Pharmacopoeia
specifications for uniformity and disintegration where applicable.
Using Poly C: take two (2) to four (4) Poly C tablets daily, or as your personal needs
require. Do not exceed four (4) tablets per day.
USANA Australia Pty Ltd
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Castle Hill, NSW 2154, Australia
USANA Health Sciences (NZ) Corporation
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Auckland 1051, New Zealand
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Phone: (61-2) 9842 4600
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Helsingin yliopisto (University of Helsinki) (2013, February
13). Vitamin C is beneficial against the common cold,
review suggests. ScienceDaily. Accessed 12 July 2013.
Available from: http://bit.ly/126xk7f
Cochrane Summaries. Independent high-quality
evidence for health care decision making. Vitamin C for
preventing and treating the common cold. Hemilä H,
Chalker E.Published Online: May 31, 2013. Accessed 12
July 2013. Available from: http://summaries.cochrane.org/
CD000980/vitamin-c-for-preventing-and-treating-thecommon-cold
Myint PK, Luben RN, Welch AA, Bingham SA, Wareham
NJ, Khaw KT. Plasma vitamin C concentrations predict
risk of incident stroke over 10 y in 20 649 participants
of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer
Norfolk prospective population study. Am J Clin Nutr.
2008 Jan;87(1):64-9. Accessed 12 July 2013. Accessed 12
July 2013. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/18175738
Scurvy returns among children with diets ‘worse than
in the war’ Published 3 July 2013. Accessed 12 July 2013.
Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/
healthnews/10158690/Scurvy-returns-among-childrenwith-diets-worse-than-in-the-war.html
Am J Public Health. 1989 February; 79(2): 158–162.
PMCID: PMC1349925The influence of smoking on
vitamin C status in adults. Schectman, J C Byrd, and H W
Gruchow Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical
College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53226. Accessed 12 July
2013. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
articles/PMC1349925/
Smoking and Nutrition. Net Doctor. Last updated
10.06.2011. Accessed 12 July 2013. Available from:
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/focus/nutrition/facts/
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Rev 01/16. Content approved for Australia and New Zealand.
Vitamin supplements should not replace a balanced diet. Always read the labels. Use only as directed.