Do You Get Enough Vitamin C In Your Diet?

Is it possible to get too much vitamin C? Yes, but it’s also possible that you may not be getting enough to support important immune functions in your body. I happen to love this vitamin. It does so much for our health and is readily available in so many fruits and vegetables.  The RDA of vitamin C is 75 – 90 mg/day for adults, but as in most RDA for vitamins and minerals, it is not enough to keep your blood levels high.

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water and are not stored in the body.  They are eliminated in our urine, so excess amounts are excreted, thus overdose is not a concern. But it’s still important not to exceed the safe upper limit of 2,000 milligrams a day to avoid stomach upset and diarrhea.

Our bodies cannot make vitamin C. In order to reap the health benefits of vitamin C, you must have a continual supply in your diet, or take a dietary supplement.

Eating vitamin C-rich foods is the best method to ensure an adequate intake of this vitamin. While many common foods contain vitamin C, the best food sources are citrus fruits. One orange, a kiwi fruit, 6 oz. of grapefruit juice or 1/3 cup of chopped sweet red pepper each supply enough vitamin C for one day.

Still, American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Dee Sandquist, RD, suggests doing your best to work more fruits and vegetables into your diet before taking supplements.

“Strive to eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily, because you will get a healthy dose of vitamin C along with an abundance of other vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that are good for disease prevention and overall health,” she says.

Here are all the foods and beverages you’d need to consume in a day to reach 500 milligrams (mg):

• Cantaloupe, 1 cup: 59 mg Vitamin C
• Orange juice, 1 cup: 97 mg
• Broccoli, cooked, 1 cup: 74 mg
• Red cabbage, 1/2 cup: 40 mg
• Green pepper, 1/2 cup, 60 mg
• Red pepper, 1/2 cup, 95 mg
• Kiwi, 1 medium: 70 mg
• Tomato juice, 1 cup: 45 mg

I know what you are thinking. Most Americans eat on the go, fast food, or simple don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables a day to get 50 mg of vitamin C, let alone 500 mg. Especially parents of special needs kids and their picky eating habits. I know only one friend that has her son eat this many vegetables a day, and he is also on the gf/cf diet.  She is one smart cookie and started him out at a young age eating fruits and vegetables. I wish I’d done that with my sons at an early age. I am now struggling with getting my son with autism to try new fruits and vegetables. My older son’s palate is much more daring and he likes to try a variety of new recipes; even if they include vegetables. But since vitamin C is water-soluble, veggies lose its vitamin C when cooked. Raw veggies are best, but sometimes just not a reality for most families.

Why do we need vitamin C?

The body needs this vitamin to keep it in good working order. Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C helps hold body cells together, aids in wound healing, assists in bone and tooth formation, strengthens the blood vessel walls, is vital for the function of the immune system, and improves absorption and utilization of iron. It is also a natural anti-histamine.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and it works with vitamin E as a free-radical scavenger. Studies suggest that vitamin C reduces the risk of certain cancers, heart disease, stroke, and cataracts.

Stress reduces our bodies vitamin C supply. Vitamin C can benefit individuals whose immune system is weakened by stress. Because it is one of the nutrients sensitive to stress, it is the first nutrient to be depleted in alcoholics, smokers and obese individuals.

Vitamin C is heavily concentrated in the brain and crucial to brain function. The earliest signs of deficiency is confusion and depression. Studies have shown vitamin C to improve cognition and alertness.

Vitamin C supplements are plentiful on the market. Something you should consider is the source of the vitamin. Most vitamin C supplements are derived from corn. This created a problem for my oldest son since he showed an allergy to corn. I found a corn and citrus-free version by Twinlabs called Allergy C. It’s made from sago palm. Keep in mind that sago palm contains salicylates if your child reacts to them. I give it with the morning digestive enzyme TriEnza that contains No Phenol digestive enzyme.

I give my son with autism a vitamin C supplement. He gets 250 mg in the morning and another 250 mg after school. This helps maintain a more even blood level than taking all 500 mg at once. When he is sick with a cold I up the dose to 750-1,000 mg/day. He takes a corn-based supplement since he has phenol sensitivity and no allergy to corn.

Swimming Brings Him to Tears

I love summertime. No school, camping trips, vacations and of course, swimming. My sons are fishes and love to swim and play in the pool. The only downside is the chlorine and its effect on my son with autism. He can’t handle it; detoxing it is tough for him. It causes his emotion regulation to get wacky and by nightfall he is in tears. Crying (very sadly, not tantrums) about anything. He knows it doesn’t make sense and says he can’t help it and wants to stop crying.

See, his PST (phenol sulfur transferase) system is deficient. It doesn’t produce enough sulfates to remove toxins (like heavy metals, and phenols) from his body. Chlorine blocks sulfation, which just adds to his body’s burden. The supplement taurine helps his cells detoxify as well as being neuro-calming (inhibiting the excitation of nerve cells in the brain). But alas, chlorine will reduce taurine levels.

So do we limit his pool time? Never! We have taken steps to enhance his body’s detoxification of chlorine so he can enjoy all the summertime swimming available to him. First, we supplement with the amino acid, taurine. We give taurine with meals since it helps in bile production. Next, we have reduced chlorine exposure in the bath and shower by replacing our shower head with a “Showerwise” filtration system. It filters out the chlorine and other chemicals in our tap water. Then, we give him Epsom salt baths immediately following swimming. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate and delivers the sulfate ions directly to his blood stream (via the skin) to assist in detoxification. Lastly, we have finally finished our backyard swimming pool project and have opted for a salt system which is a healthier alternative to utilizing a chlorine and bromine sanitation system.

Sometimes it’s difficult to get to the Epsom salt bath right away after swimming, so you can make your own Epsom salt oil by dissolving 1 tsp. Epsom salts with 1 tsp. warm water and add coconut oil. A fast, easy alternative to baths that I love is dissolving equal parts of Epsom salts and warm water, then put into a spray bottle. You can spray a person’s chest or back after swimming and let dry.

One more thought on summertime fun and swimming is the sunscreen. A lot of sunscreens have harsh chemicals in them that affect our children negatively. I like the California Baby sunscreen brand, but still prefer to use as little sunscreen as possible. One way is to purchase a rash guard shirt so there are fewer areas on the body exposed to the sun.

The lazy days of summer aren’t so lazy in the homes of special needs kids, but they have just as many fun-filled summer memories!

Curcumin: Cancer Fighter, Autism Healer

There are many benefits attributed to the use of curcumin. The two most impressive for our family are its cancer fighting abilities and the healing benefits for autism.

Curcumin is the main active ingredient of turmeric, which is used as a seasoning and the key ingredient of curry.  Curcumin has been used in the Indian and Chinese cultures for medicinal purposes for thousand of years.  Studies have shown it to possess the following properties: anti-tumor, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet, cholesterol lowering, antibacterial and anti-fungal effects. It contains a mixture of powerful antioxidant phytonutrients called curcuminoids.

Due to its powerful anti-inflammatory properties it can also help to keep the neural pathways clear, helping with dementia, like Alzheimer’s and neurological disorders, like autism.

Cancer Fighter

Curcumin can significantly slow the growth of skin, lung, breast and prostate cancers. The anti-tumor effect stem from its ability to induce apoptosis in cancer cells without cytotoxic effects on healthy cells. (Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are forms of cytotoxic therapy).  In other words, it induces the abnormal cells to kill themselves before they become cancerous, while leaving the healthy ones alone. Before apoptosis is induced, curcumin stops cancer cells from multiplying. In cancer research, this is known as “interrupting the cell cycle”.  Therefore, curcumin is useful for cancer prevention and therapy.

Curcumin can block chemicals from getting inside cells.  It can interfere with pesticides that mimic estrogen. These include DDT and dioxin, two extremely toxic chemicals that contaminate America’s food and water. Some studies have even suggested that curcumin can inhibit cancer metastasis.

On a personal note, when my sister decided to stop chemotherapy treatments for her cancer, we asked her oncologist what natural supplements she could use instead. He immediately suggested curcumin. This took me by surprise because at the time I had only known its’ benefit for treating my son with autism and his health issues.

Detoxification

Curcumin has a detoxifying effect on the body by improving liver function and helping the body eliminate at a greater and more efficient rate.

It also helps with detoxification by increasing cellular glutathione levels.  Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect cells from reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as free radicals. Glutathione is produced by the body and found in every cell. It’s the body’s most important antioxidant because it’s within the cell.  Because glutathione exists within the cells, it is in a prime position to neutralize free radicals. It also has potentially widespread health benefits because it can be found in all types of cells, including the cells of the immune system, whose job is to fight disease.

In autism and ADHD, glutathione reserves are commonly low.  This leads to many biochemical problems for children with autism, one being an inability to detoxify toxins such as mercury and lead.  These toxins adversely affect chemicals in the brain that support attention, focusing, and general awareness. By increasing glutathione levels, curcumin can provide numerous benefits for these kids.

My son with autism had low glutathione levels, heavy metal toxicity and gut dysbiosis (stemming from too much bad bacteria in the gut). We have significantly increased his detoxification abilities through transdermal glutathione, IV glutathione and glutathione precursors like methyl-B12 and TMG. Our latest endeavor is curcumin. We are using Lee Silsby’s brand, called Enhansa.

Lee Silby's Enhansa

The benefits we are seeking from Enhansa (curcumin) are increased cellular glutathione, anti-inflammatory effects for his gut and brain, improve his liver detoxification and to chelate lead and cadmium. It will also protect his body and brain from the damaging effects of mercury.

Curcumin is very phenolic and my son with autism reacts to phenols. So we are trying curcumin in conjunction with the digestive enzyme No-Phenol. This enzyme will help his body process the phenol load from the curcumin. We will also be providing him with Epsom salt baths seven days a week to support detox. As with all new supplements we give him, will be starting out with a very low dose and increase it slowly, so to minimize any die-off reactions. If needed, we’ll give him activated charcoal to help mop up the toxins.

I believe so strongly in the benefits of curcumin, that I have also started taking it. Cancer is in my family history and I believe curcumin will help me not become another cancer statistic.  Once again, I can thank autism for entering our lives and being the impetus to learn more about the importance of maintaining our overall health.

Apples, Bananas and Grapes, Oh My!

One of my favorite childhood movies was The Wizard of Oz. It’s funny how my life has traveled down a path that feels like the yellow brick road. Searching for the Emerald City, all the while dodging flying monkeys, evading a wicked witch and meeting a talking scarecrow. It seems a lot like our biomedical journey through autism.  And what was in that picnic basket Dorothy carried with her? My son would have filled it with apples.

Apples, applesauce, apple juice. Not that long ago, that was about the only fruit my son with autism would eat. Oh, and a banana every now and again. Orange juice is OK now. He LOVES grape juice and will eat an occasional grape. The problem is, these fruits are highly phenolic in nature. Makes him react like a hyperactive chipmunk on catnip!

My older son will eat any fruit he can get his hands on, but does not react to phenols like my youngest. Not fair, I say. So I let my son with autism eat apples, bananas and grapes now. He takes a digestive enzyme to help him process it, called No-Phenol. I also give him Epsom salt baths each night to help his body detox the phenols.

Ketchup, pasta sauce, pizza sauce. All phenolic and make him a crazed energizer bunny! But he sure does love those tomato based foods. So every time his meal has anything tomato based in it, he gets a No-Phenol enzyme. And all is good in the Allor house.

We just went camping for five days. It was beautiful, fun-filled and great to be in the mountains. The only problem was I couldn’t give my son with autism his nightly Epsom salt bath.  Without the baths, his emotion regulation gets  a bit crazy and he gets weepy on me over the little things. I did bring our Epsom salts along and decided to soak his feet in a small tub before bed. That helps in a pinch. It’s not the same as a full body soak for 15 minutes, but it definitely helps his body detox.

That yellow-brick road seems never-ending. We haven’t found the Emerald City yet so we can ask the Wizard just how to completely heal our son’s biochemical pathways. I’ll keep you posted on what I learn in my continued research. In the meantime, we’ll rely on No-Phenol and Epsom salts. One day, we’ll find our way home, and out of the land of Oz.

Related posts on phenols, epsom salts and the PST pathway:

http://healingautismandadhd.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/epsom-salts-old-wives-tale-or-medical-fact/

http://healingautismandadhd.wordpress.com/diet-2/phenolssalicylates/

http://healingautismandadhd.wordpress.com/diet-2/feingold/

Epsom Salts – Old Wives Tale or Medical Fact?

(First in a series of three wives tales)

My mother taught me about Epsom salts for aches and pains. She would swear by it and I would ignore it; chalking it up to another old wives tale she told me. But then autism entered our lives and suddenly I was reading about the magic of Epsom salt baths. Could my mom actually have been right about this? Well, yes.

The reason I learned about Epsom salt baths for my son with autism was due to the research I was conducting on some of his physical and behavioral symptoms he displayed. It turned out that he has trouble with his PST (phenol-sulfotransferase) system and the processing of phenols and salicylates.

Symptoms of PST/sulfate deficiency (problems with phenols/salicylates) are reddened ears, hyperactivity, inappropriate laughter, night sweats, black under eyes, excessive thirst, eczema, facial flushing, trouble falling to sleep, disturbed sleep and odorous bed-clothes.  Your child doesn’t have to exhibit all of these symptoms in order to have trouble with phenols.  My son gets most of these symptoms and he not only becomes very hyper, but he starts to stim and he has trouble with emotion regulation.

Ready for the medical science behind this? One very important sulfotransferase enzyme is the one that attaches sulfate to phenol compounds, called phenol-sulfotransferase (PST). The PST is under active in the majority of autistic children. Without the PST enzyme working properly, the liver will have trouble eliminating the phenols in food.  PST is a Phase 2 liver enzyme that detoxifies leftover hormones and a wide variety of toxic molecules, such as phenols and amines that are produced in the body (and even in the gut by bacteria, yeast, and other fungi) as well as food dyes and chemicals.

OK, so what are phenols?  Phenols are present in food dyes, artificial flavors, preservatives and in highly colored fruits and vegetables, in bioflavonoids, and in carotenoids (carotene, lutein, lycopene, xanthophylls, and zeaxanthin).  Almost all foods have phenols, but in varying amounts. Salicylates are a subgroup of phenols. Salicylate is a group of chemicals related to aspirin. There are several kinds of salicylate, which plants make as a natural pesticide to protect themselves.  Foods high in natural salicylates are tomatoes, apples, peanuts, bananas, oranges, cocoa (chocolate), red grapes, coffee, all berries, peppers (bell & chili) to name a few.  My son can’t tolerate too many phenols/salicylates. He reacts to tomatoes (yes, ketchup and pasta sauce!), chocolate, red grapes, and artificial colors/flavors.

Most children on the autism spectrum are very low in sulfate due to a deficiency in this PST pathway.  Since sulfur intake is low, and its oxidation is slow in many autistic children, phenols and salicylates that requires or uses up sulfate ions during its metabolism, will make the situation worse.  Tylenol is phenolic and one or two minutes after a dose of  Tylenol, the entire supply of sulfate in the liver is gone!

So, what’s a mother to do? Well, listen to their mother. Epsom salt baths. One way to enhance detoxification is to supply more sulfate.  This increases the amount of toxins processed out. Sulfate ions may not be absorbed well from the gut, so simply giving more sulfur directly by swallowing supplements may not produce satisfactory results.  This may be because their body is unable to convert the sulfur to the needed sulfate form. Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate which is readily available to support the PST pathway. You can purchase Epsom salts at Costco, Wal-Mart or your local grocery and health food stores. Be sure to purchase U.S.P. (United States pharmaceutical grade).

When given an Epsom salt bath, the magnesium and sulfate in the salts are absorbed into the body through the skin. Because the sulfur is already in the sulfate form, it does not need to be converted like other forms of sulfur do. Sulfate is thought to circulate in the body up to about nine hours. Any Epsom salts left on the skin may continue to be absorbed as long as it is still on the skin, offering continuous ‘timed-released’ input into the bloodstream.

I put 1.5 to 2 cups of Epsom salts in hot bath water to dissolve and then add the cold water to balance the temperature. My son will soak for about 15 minutes before I use natural soaps or shampoos. Others add baking soda and lavender oil to enhance the relaxation effects.  I give my son an Epsom salt bath at least 5 nights a week, others do less.  It really soothes and calms him for bedtime.

I’ve finally decided to take heed to my mother’s old wives tales she’s been sharing with me for the past 40 years. There is something to be said about listening to your mother.  But perhaps we should refer to them as “old wise tales” from now on.

Read the second post in the series of “Old Wives Tales” here:  http://healingautismandadhd.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/a-tablespoon-of-apple-cider-vinegar-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away/