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The Center for Integrative Medicine

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Is Vitamin C Worthwhile?

I’m asked this question a lot.

You’d think the controversy would be over by now. Among doctors who take vitamins regularly (now the majority), vitamin C is always included.

Yet every year or so some study claims that vitamin C really doesn’t do much of anything. The study gets a lot of press and I begin again recounting for my patients the dozens of studies showing that vitamin C:

  • Improves your immune function, both in preventing and fighting infections.
  • Protects you from developing heart disease, prevents heart attacks, and stabilizes heart rhythm.
  • Reduces damage caused by high cholesterol.
  • Reduces frequency of asthma attacks among asthma-prone patients.
  • Enhances cancer survival.
  • Promotes healthy bones.
  • Statistically, can actually extend lifespan.

With data like this, why is the medical profession so silent? Maybe because many doctors think of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin C they were taught in medical school–a pathetic 90 mg, which keeps you from developing scurvy and not much else.

The studies listed above required higher doses, from 1,000 to 6,000 mg daily (I myself take 2,000 mg).

Taking vitamin C is a smart preventive move. It’s cheap, safe, and actually works. You can find vitamin C in virtually every drug store. If you’d prefer to order online, click here.

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