9/27/07 6AM
I know my blogs are too long to actually be “blogs” they are really excerpts from my book. This one follows an excerpt I wrote about a dream. The following is NOT a dream though...
On Friday September 7th I met Vitamin C. Yes, he actually plays Vitamin C in a vitamin commercial. How ironic, right? A dietitian and a vitamin, and not just any vitamin but probably the best and most researched off all the vitamins. He is, I mean, Vitamin C is, the most powerful antioxidant around. I love Vitamin C. It is literally my favorite vitamin, although I do hate to play favorites because all of the vitamins and minerals are essential to life. That is literally how they even get classified as vitamins and minerals. They are vital to life and without them you will die, eventually. Like without C you will develop scurvy which is basically a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C and characterized by spongy and bleeding gums, bleeding under the skin, and extreme weakness.
The term scurvy was coined over 250 years ago by British seamen. When these men set out on long sea voyages, they knew they had less than a 50% chance of coming back alive. Over half of the ship’s crew would die of the disease they called scurvy. They named the disease without knowing what caused it and as far as I can tell, they developed the name from the old English word “scurf” meaning “the scales or small shreds of epidermis that are continually exfoliated from the skin”. Scurf turned into scurf-y and then scurvy. From this disease came the first documented nutrition experiment by a British physician named James Lind. If I knew Dr. Lind I probably would have dated him. I love smart, think-out-of-the-box type men.
Anywho, he divided 12 sailors with scurvy into six pairs and gave each of them a different “supplement”: cider, vinegar, sulfuric acid, seawater, purgative (a laxative) mixed with spices, or oranges and lemons. So, you know how when you eat a lemon your mouth puckers, well, just imagine your reaction to plain old vinegar or seawater or sulfuric acid or purgative, that one will surely make you sick. When I think of sulfuric acid I think of that rotten egg smell. The thought of drinking that “smell” makes me gag. I can’t even imagine. If I were a sailor on that ship I hope I would have been in the orange and lemon group. I can tolerate some puckering over gagging.
Oh, and seawater, not so good either. Apparently there was a time in history when the seawater matched the solution concentration of the body. At least that is the belief of some evolutionists and it makes sense to me. Over time the sea has become so high in “salts”, that if we drink seawater it can cause severe dehydration as the body tries to deal with all that “salt”. The salt in seawater is not just sodium chloride as we find in table salt. Seawater also contains potassium chloride and magnesium chloride. All of these elements are also found in human tissue. They are known as electrolytes. They are responsible for the ebb and flow of nutrients that go in and out of cells.
The water in your body, which can be 60-70% of your body composition, is the equalizer for all things. Water helps to keep an even distribution of these electrolytes inside and outside of each cell so that nutrients “flow”. When you drink seawater with it’s concentration of “salts” at three times the level of your body, that “equalizing” water rushes to intestinal tract to greet those “salts”, to “neutralize” them so they can travel safely through the body. The water then “escorts” the extra “salts” out of the body. But first, the water has to equalize the salts, which means that the water leaves the inside and the outside of those once balanced cells. Now the cells become unbalanced, essentially, dehydrated.
The water escorts the “salts” to the kidneys where the excess salts will be excreted. Now the poor kidneys are working overtime. Since the kidneys are also responsible for recycling water back into the body and since the cells are like, screaming for a “drink”, the kidneys are so doing double duty by trying to get rid of extra “salts” and rehydrating the body. What can happen in the long run is death, from dehydration and kidney failure. Suffice it to say, given a choice between the smelly sulfuric acid and the potential kidney failure causing, death inducing seawater, I’d drink the smelly stuff.
Besides, you need sulfur, although sulfur deficiencies are not likely. What is likely is a deficiency in sulfur containing amino acids. For those who follow a strict vegan diet, it is possible to have an imbalance of amino acids, some of which are the sulfur containing ones, Methionine and Cysteine, which are lacking in beans and legumes. But grains are great source of these sulfur containing amino acids which is why beans and grains go great together. A deficiency in “sulfur” containing amino acids is quite rare in the US but it may be possible if someone follows a very strict and unbalanced vegan diet. Skin, hair and nails contain more of these sulfur type amino acids than other body parts which does not mean you have to eat more sulfur amino acids in order to have great skin, hair and nails, it means that you should eat a diet balanced in adequate protein sources, which is a diet of either grains and beans throughout the day or free-range animal proteins. Then your sulfur amino acid needs will be met and your skin, hair and nails can grow freely.
Oh, but getting back to the scurvy discussion, in summary, the men who ate the oranges and lemons recovered from their bout with scurvy. The other unlucky 10 who drank smelly, salty, laxative effect inducing solutions, well, they probably died. That part of the story was left out. None-the-less it wasn’t until 50 years later that the British navy required all ships to provide their sailors with a daily dose of lime juice. Not sure why it wasn’t lemon or orange juice? But the lime juice 'supplement' gave the British sailors their nickname “limeys”. The antiscurvy “something” in limes and other similar fruits, was dubbed the antiscorbutic (pertaining to, of the nature of, or affected with scurvy) factor. It took 200 years before the “factor” was isolated from lemon juice and found to be a six-carbon compound similar to glucose.
Nowadays the synthetic form of Vitamin C is readily available and widely used. Vitamin C is known for its powerful antioxidant capabilities. An antioxidant is any substance that prevents or inhibits the oxidation of another substance. In doing so, the antioxidant becomes oxidized itself. It protects the body by sacrificing itself. It is literally the bodyguard for the watery parts of the body.
I know my blogs are too long to actually be “blogs” they are really excerpts from my book. This one follows an excerpt I wrote about a dream. The following is NOT a dream though...
On Friday September 7th I met Vitamin C. Yes, he actually plays Vitamin C in a vitamin commercial. How ironic, right? A dietitian and a vitamin, and not just any vitamin but probably the best and most researched off all the vitamins. He is, I mean, Vitamin C is, the most powerful antioxidant around. I love Vitamin C. It is literally my favorite vitamin, although I do hate to play favorites because all of the vitamins and minerals are essential to life. That is literally how they even get classified as vitamins and minerals. They are vital to life and without them you will die, eventually. Like without C you will develop scurvy which is basically a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C and characterized by spongy and bleeding gums, bleeding under the skin, and extreme weakness.
The term scurvy was coined over 250 years ago by British seamen. When these men set out on long sea voyages, they knew they had less than a 50% chance of coming back alive. Over half of the ship’s crew would die of the disease they called scurvy. They named the disease without knowing what caused it and as far as I can tell, they developed the name from the old English word “scurf” meaning “the scales or small shreds of epidermis that are continually exfoliated from the skin”. Scurf turned into scurf-y and then scurvy. From this disease came the first documented nutrition experiment by a British physician named James Lind. If I knew Dr. Lind I probably would have dated him. I love smart, think-out-of-the-box type men.
Anywho, he divided 12 sailors with scurvy into six pairs and gave each of them a different “supplement”: cider, vinegar, sulfuric acid, seawater, purgative (a laxative) mixed with spices, or oranges and lemons. So, you know how when you eat a lemon your mouth puckers, well, just imagine your reaction to plain old vinegar or seawater or sulfuric acid or purgative, that one will surely make you sick. When I think of sulfuric acid I think of that rotten egg smell. The thought of drinking that “smell” makes me gag. I can’t even imagine. If I were a sailor on that ship I hope I would have been in the orange and lemon group. I can tolerate some puckering over gagging.
Oh, and seawater, not so good either. Apparently there was a time in history when the seawater matched the solution concentration of the body. At least that is the belief of some evolutionists and it makes sense to me. Over time the sea has become so high in “salts”, that if we drink seawater it can cause severe dehydration as the body tries to deal with all that “salt”. The salt in seawater is not just sodium chloride as we find in table salt. Seawater also contains potassium chloride and magnesium chloride. All of these elements are also found in human tissue. They are known as electrolytes. They are responsible for the ebb and flow of nutrients that go in and out of cells.
The water in your body, which can be 60-70% of your body composition, is the equalizer for all things. Water helps to keep an even distribution of these electrolytes inside and outside of each cell so that nutrients “flow”. When you drink seawater with it’s concentration of “salts” at three times the level of your body, that “equalizing” water rushes to intestinal tract to greet those “salts”, to “neutralize” them so they can travel safely through the body. The water then “escorts” the extra “salts” out of the body. But first, the water has to equalize the salts, which means that the water leaves the inside and the outside of those once balanced cells. Now the cells become unbalanced, essentially, dehydrated.
The water escorts the “salts” to the kidneys where the excess salts will be excreted. Now the poor kidneys are working overtime. Since the kidneys are also responsible for recycling water back into the body and since the cells are like, screaming for a “drink”, the kidneys are so doing double duty by trying to get rid of extra “salts” and rehydrating the body. What can happen in the long run is death, from dehydration and kidney failure. Suffice it to say, given a choice between the smelly sulfuric acid and the potential kidney failure causing, death inducing seawater, I’d drink the smelly stuff.
Besides, you need sulfur, although sulfur deficiencies are not likely. What is likely is a deficiency in sulfur containing amino acids. For those who follow a strict vegan diet, it is possible to have an imbalance of amino acids, some of which are the sulfur containing ones, Methionine and Cysteine, which are lacking in beans and legumes. But grains are great source of these sulfur containing amino acids which is why beans and grains go great together. A deficiency in “sulfur” containing amino acids is quite rare in the US but it may be possible if someone follows a very strict and unbalanced vegan diet. Skin, hair and nails contain more of these sulfur type amino acids than other body parts which does not mean you have to eat more sulfur amino acids in order to have great skin, hair and nails, it means that you should eat a diet balanced in adequate protein sources, which is a diet of either grains and beans throughout the day or free-range animal proteins. Then your sulfur amino acid needs will be met and your skin, hair and nails can grow freely.
Oh, but getting back to the scurvy discussion, in summary, the men who ate the oranges and lemons recovered from their bout with scurvy. The other unlucky 10 who drank smelly, salty, laxative effect inducing solutions, well, they probably died. That part of the story was left out. None-the-less it wasn’t until 50 years later that the British navy required all ships to provide their sailors with a daily dose of lime juice. Not sure why it wasn’t lemon or orange juice? But the lime juice 'supplement' gave the British sailors their nickname “limeys”. The antiscurvy “something” in limes and other similar fruits, was dubbed the antiscorbutic (pertaining to, of the nature of, or affected with scurvy) factor. It took 200 years before the “factor” was isolated from lemon juice and found to be a six-carbon compound similar to glucose.
Nowadays the synthetic form of Vitamin C is readily available and widely used. Vitamin C is known for its powerful antioxidant capabilities. An antioxidant is any substance that prevents or inhibits the oxidation of another substance. In doing so, the antioxidant becomes oxidized itself. It protects the body by sacrificing itself. It is literally the bodyguard for the watery parts of the body.
In the vitamin television commercial, Mr. Vitamin C does a skit with Vitamin E (another powerful antioxidant). Vitamin C says that he helps to recharge Vitamin E. Vitamin C does this by being ready to be used in some of the body’s own natural antioxidant defense system pathways which in turn recharge Vitamin E. But Vitamin C’s biggest role is protecting the watery 'mote' outside the cell walls, by standing force, ready to take on substances which may try to enter the cell to wreak havoc on the cell itself or harm E which hangs out in the lipid layer of the cell wall. So in essence, Vitamin C protects E by being ready to sacrifice itself first. Vitamin C did help to recharge me by being a good friend, but he's not the man for me. I'll keep searching.
In honor of the British Sailors who sacrificed their lives unknowingly to scurvy; if only they had eaten an orange or two.
Here is a dish laden with Vitamin C.
A surefire, tastey way to prevent Scurv-y.
Spicy Lime-y Slaw
SLAW
1/2 medium green cabbage, cored and finely shredded
1/4 medium red cabbage, cored and finely shredded
2 carrots, grated
DRESSING
2 limes, zested and juiced
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon minced jalapeno pepper (seeds removed)
3 tablespoons filtered water
6 tablespoons Vegannaise
2 small dates, pitted and finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped almonds
1. Toss the cabbage and carrots in a large bowl.
2. Combine lime juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest, garlic, japaleno, water, Vegannaise, dates and salt in a blender and process until smooth. The taste should be a little tart from the limes, a little spicy from the jalapeno, and a little sweet from the dates.
3. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss well. Dish up and sprinkle with cilantro and almonds.
Spicy Lime-y Slaw
SLAW
1/2 medium green cabbage, cored and finely shredded
1/4 medium red cabbage, cored and finely shredded
2 carrots, grated
DRESSING
2 limes, zested and juiced
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon minced jalapeno pepper (seeds removed)
3 tablespoons filtered water
6 tablespoons Vegannaise
2 small dates, pitted and finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped almonds
1. Toss the cabbage and carrots in a large bowl.
2. Combine lime juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest, garlic, japaleno, water, Vegannaise, dates and salt in a blender and process until smooth. The taste should be a little tart from the limes, a little spicy from the jalapeno, and a little sweet from the dates.
3. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss well. Dish up and sprinkle with cilantro and almonds.
