AND THE SECTION IS COVERING VITAMIN C. SO YOU USUALLY

THINK OF VITAMIN C AS SOMETHING THAT PREVENTS COLDS,

WHICH IT DOES AND WE'LL GET TO THAT.

BUT VITAMIN C ACTUALLY HAS A RANGE OF DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS,

VARIOUS FUNCTIONS.

ONE OF THE MAIN FUNCTIONS IS THE MAINTENANCE OF

CONNECTIVE TISSUES AND THIS IS BECAUSE

IT'S INVOLVED IN THE FORMATION OF COLLAGEN.

WHAT'S COLLAGEN?

COLLAGEN IS A PROTEIN INVOLVED IN MOST OF THE TISSUES IN

OUR BODY AND IF YOU LOOK DOWN AT YOUR SKIN, WELL,

WHAT YOU'RE SEEING THERE IS COLLAGEN.

AND OF COURSE YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY SEE THE COLLAGEN.

AND ALSO IN MANY OF THE OTHER,

MANY OTHER CONNECTIVE TISSUES SUCH AS THE TISSUES THAT

SURROUND MUSCLES OR THEY CONNECT BONE TO BONE SUCH AS LIGAMENTS.

IT'S ALSO INVOLVED WITH A CO-FACTOR

IN THE PRODUCTION OF CARNITINE.

WE DON'T NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT CARNITINE IS,

BUT CARNITINE IS INVOLVED IN THE TRANSPORT

OF FATTY ACIDS INTO THE MITOCHONDRIA.

NOW THE MITOCHONDRIA ARE GENERALLY THE WORK

HORSE FOR METABOLISM, ENERGY METABOLISM,

SO IT'S ESSENTIALLY GOING TO BREAK DOWN

THOSE FATTY ACIDS TO GIVE US ENERGY.

SO IT'S A CO-FACTOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF CARNITINE

WHICH HELPS IN TRANSPORTING THOSE FATTY ACIDS.

THE, ANOTHER POPULAR, I SHOULD SAY WELL KNOWN

FUNCTION OF VITAMIN C IS AS AN ANTI-OXIDANT.

AND WE DO THINK OF VITAMIN C AS AN ANTI-OXIDANT.

IT'S THE MAIN, OTHER VITAMIN IT WORKS WITH IS ACTUALLY VITAMIN

E AND IT RESTORES VITAMIN E TO IT'S ACTIVE FORM.

SO VITAMIN C AND E WORK TOGETHER,

VITAMIN E NEEDS VITAMIN C, SO THOSE TWO VITAMINS C AND E,

WORK TOGETHER AS ANTI-OXIDANTS.

VITAMIN C DOES SUPPORT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

SO IT DOES HAVE AN IMPORTANT FUNCTION

IN IMMUNITY AND IT DOES BOOST IRON ABSORPTION.

SO WHAT HAPPENS IN DEFICIENCY?

WELL IN A TRUE VITAMIN C DEFICIENCY,

THERE IS A CONDITION CALLED SCURVY.

AND WHAT THIS IS IS A BREAKDOWN OF CONNECTIVE TISSUE.

AND IF YOU LOOK AT THIS PICTURE HERE,

YOU'LL SEE WHERE THESE BLEEDING GUMS.

SO IT'S-- YOU DON'T HAVE VITAMIN C YOU CAN'T MAKE COLLAGEN.

COLLAGEN IS PART OF CONNECTIVE TISSUE,

SO THAT'S GOING TO BE YOUR GUMS AND

YOUR SKINS AND YOUR INTESTINAL [ INAUDIBLE ].

SO IF THAT CAN'T BE FORMED WHEN IT GOES TO CHANGE OVERS,

EVERYTHING IS CONSTANTLY REMODELING IN YOUR BODY,

THERE'S NOT ENOUGH VITAMIN C THERE,

YOU CAN'T REMAKE THAT TISSUE.

AT THE END OF BLEEDING, BLEEDING GUMS,

BLEEDING OUT, OPEN SORES, UNABLE TO HEAL.

NOW THIS A WOMAN WITH A TRUE DEFICIENCY AND YOU

ACTUALLY DON'T NEED THAT MUCH VITAMIN C TO PREVENT SCURVY.

AND IN FACT YOU MAY HAVE READ IN YOUR TEXTBOOKS

THE STORY OF HOW THE BRITISH GOT THEIR NAMES,

LIMEYS AND IT WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING OUT ON THESE

LONG MISSIONS ON BOATS, BUT THEY WEREN'T BRINGING

ANY FRESH FRUITS OR VEGETABLES OR IF THEY DID,

THEY WOULDN'T LAST, THEY WOULD PERISH.

SO THE SAILORS WERE DEVELOPING SORES,

BLEEDING SORES, AND SOMEONE WHO FIGURED

OUT THAT IF YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT OF LIME,

LITTLE BIT OF LIME, SQUEEZE A LITTLE BIT

OF LIME THAT IT WOULD PREVENT THIS CONDITION.

THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE CONDITION WAS AND THEY

DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS VITAMIN C IN THE LIME,

BUT THEY DID DEVELOP THE NAME LIMEY FROM THAT PRACTICE.

THEY STARTED BRINGING BIG BAGS OF LIMES

'CAUSE THEY WOULD NOT PERISH FOR A LONG TIME.

SO SUDDENLY A LITTLE BIT OF VITAMIN C

COULD HELP PREVENT THIS CONDITION.

NOW VITAMIN C IS USED A LOT FOR THE PREVENTION OF COLDS

AND IT'S SOLD THIS WAY, IT'S MARKETED THIS WAY.

I HAVE PEOPLE TELL ME, YOU KNOW, IT'S WINTERTIME, OH,

ARE YOU TAKING YOUR VITAMIN C? AND I ALWAYS TELL THEM NO.

BECAUSE VITAMIN C DOESN'T PREVENT COLDS.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAVE ALL OF YOUR

NUTRIENTS AT ADEQUATE AMOUNTS IN ORDER TO PROTECT YOURSELF

AND TO BUILD UP IMMUNITY TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COLDS.

SO THAT, THAT IS TRUE,

BUT THAT EXTRA VITAMIN C HASN'T BEEN SHOWN TO PREVENT A COLD.

WHAT IT WILL DO IS ACTUALLY REDUCE HISTAMINE.

HISTAMINE IS A CHEMICAL THAT MAKES YOU ITCH.

SO WHENEVER YOU HAVE A MOSQUITO BITE,

YOU'RE SCRATCHING, THAT'S A HISTAMINE REACTION.

THE VITAMIN C CAN REDUCE THAT,

SO IT WILL DECREASE THE SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH A COLD.

AND SOME OF THE STUDIES

HAVE SHOWN THAT IT CAN REDUCE THE TIME PERIOD

OF A COLD MAYBE BY A HALF DAY, NOT DRAMATIC.

BUT IT WILL ACTUALLY RECOMMEND THAT

YOU TAKE VITAMIN C IN THE WINTER,

'CAUSE IT'S NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING FOR YOU.

AGAIN I DO RECOMMEND THAT YOU HAVE AN ABUNDANCE OF

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES TO HELP YOU OBTAIN ADEQUATE

AMOUNTS OF YOUR NUTRIENTS AND THAT WILL HELP GIVE

YOU A BETTER IMMUNITY AND HELP PREVENT COLDS.

BUT OF COURSE EVERYTHING IS YOUR CHOICE,

I JUST WANT YOU TO BE EDUCATED ABOUT YOUR CHOICE.

AS FAR AS TOXICITY IS CONCERNED,

I DON'T HAVE A SLIDE FOR THIS BECAUSE VITAMIN C HAS NOT SHOWN

TO BE TOXIC FROM FOOD AND THERE HAVE EVEN BEEN STUDIES OF HIGH

DOSE SUPPLEMENTS WHERE WE REALLY HAVEN'T SEEN ANY MORE TOXICITY

WITH VITAMIN C. IT USUALLY JUST ISN'T, [ INAUDIBLE ]

WE HAVE ENOUGH, IT ISN'T ABSORBED.

WE'RE GOING TO FINISH WITH SOME SOURCES OF VITAMIN C.

YOU KNOW I PUT THE ORANGE IN THE BIG PICTURE HERE BECAUSE

THAT'S WHAT EVERYBODY THINKS ABOUT VITAMIN

C AS A GOOD SOURCE BUT THAT'S NOT THE ONLY SOURCE.

YOU CAN GET VITAMIN C FROM IT'S GOING TO BE

IN SMALL AMOUNTS IN SOME OF THE FRUITS.

SO YOU KNOW I HAVE STRAWBERRIES AND

KIWIS SHOWN HERE BUT MOST OF YOUR MELONS,

CANTALOUPES AND PAPAYAS YOU'RE ALSO GOING TO HAVE THAT ARE A

GOOD SOURCE OF VITAMIN C, RED BELL PEPPERS.

YOU DON'T-- IF YOU DON'T LIKE CITRUS,

YOU DON'T HAVE TO FOCUS ON WHICH

FRUIT TO GET ENOUGH VITAMIN C. RIGHT,

THAT'S GOING TO BE ALL FOR THIS SECTION OF VITAMIN C.