Vitamin C

Notable human dietary studies of experimentally induced scurvy were conducted on conscientious objectors during World War II in Britain and in the United States on Iowa state prisoner volunteers in the late 1960s. These studies both found that all obvious symptoms of scurvy previously induced by an experimental scorbutic diet with extremely low vitamin C content could be completely reversed by additional vitamin C supplementation of only 10 mg per day. In these experiments, no clinical difference was noted between men given 70 mg vitamin C per day (which produced blood levels of vitamin C of about 0.55 mg/dl, about 1⁄3 of tissue saturation levels), and those given 10 mg per day (which produced lower blood levels). Men in the prison study developed the first signs of scurvy about 4 weeks after starting the vitamin C-free diet, whereas in the British study, six to eight months were required, possibly because the subjects were pre-loaded with a 70 mg/day supplement for six weeks before the scorbutic diet was fed.

Men in both studies, on a diet devoid or nearly devoid of vitamin C, had blood levels of vitamin C too low to be accurately measured when they developed signs of scurvy, and in the Iowa study, at this time were estimated (by labeled vitamin C dilution) to have a body pool of less than 300 mg, with daily turnover of only 2.5 mg/day.

• Anti-oxidant

• Important co-factor in iron metabolism

• Needed to make carnitine, collagen, and the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine

• Dopamine is converted by Copper and Vitamin C into Norepinephrine

• Carnitine production for b-oxidation of fatty acids in mitochondria

• Collaborates with glutathione and tocopherol metabolism for anti-oxidant function

• Daily rec intakes 75 mg for men and 90 for women.

• Vitamin C readily donates electrons/hydrogen ions to reduce free radicals and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. 

• Vitamin C functions as a reducing agent to convert copper that has become oxidized during the reaction back to a reduced (Cu1+) form.

• Involved in collagen biosynthesis: vitamin c dependent hydroxylation occurs during collagen synthesis by keeping iron in a reduced (ferrous state), which allows for production of hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine.

• During production of hydroxylysine and proline, converted from a ferrous (2+) state to a ferric (3+) state. Vitamin C acts as reductant keeping iron in a ferrous state (active state).
  Again a type of “sacrifice system.”
  These are important compounds of collagen, skin, nails etc.