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| Vitamin C Supplements vs. Whole Food Nutrition
Back in the 18th century, European travelers were crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. They discovered if they drank fresh lime juice they did not get scurvy (a vitamin C deficiency resulting in weakness and joint pain, internal hemorrhages causing black-and-blue marks to appear on the skin, gums hemorrhaging and becoming weak and spongy, teeth root break down where teeth loosen and eating becomes difficult and painful). That's why British sailors were called limeys. It wasn’t until the 20th century, that scientists finally isolated the beneficial nutrient in citrus fruits as vitamin C. What is not commonly known is by taking isolated Vitamin C in the form of an ascorbic acid supplement one only gets rid of the symptoms of scurvy. When the ascorbic acid supplement is discontinued the symptoms and disease returns. However, if one gets Vitamin C made from an extract of whole green peppers not only do the symptoms disappear but the scurvy is gone when discontinued. Vitamin C in the form of a whole food product contains rutin, bioflavonoids, Vitamin E, selenium and zinc that Nature dictated is needed for Vitamin C to work optimally in our body. All these complementary compounds are present in whole food sources of Vitamin C (e.g., green peppers, oranges, rose hips, acerola cherries, algae). By eating only an isolated supplement with just ascorbic acid or by juicing an orange and throwing away the pulp and peel, one is missing all the above necessary compounds. I have proven this to myself by taking a time-released, megadose=2,000 mg Vitamin C tablet and a whole food Vitamin C made from rose hips and acerola cherries (Vitamin C=250 mg) to my chiropractor when I had a cold or flu. Through nutritional testing the chiropractor determined the 2,000 mg supplement would help me recovery from the cold or flu but the 250 mg whole food tablet would do just as well or better. So, a Vitamin C supplement of 2,000 mg is not necessarily better than a whole food product containing 250 mg of Vitamin C. Consider this fact: more
expensive Vitamin C supplements are buffered to prevent nausea for those
with a sensitive stomach (can’t tolerate ascorbic acid). Nature included the
buffer ingredients needed in the pulp and skin of whole food sources of
Vitamin C (i.e. the white pulpy part of the orange). So, who is smarter—the
scientist that discovered we need to put back the buffer ingredients in
isolated Vitamin C supplements or Nature? New research has shown that 90% of the
antioxidant power of whole foods is contained in the pulp and peel. So, why
do most super nutrient, antioxidant juices on the market today contain only
the juice? Parts vs. the Whole
Based on our combined 75+ years of holistic experience, we have come to the conclusion that nutrition from whole food products is far superior, safer and more holistic than isolated supplements. To support this conclusion consider these final thoughts from two prestigious sources:
At Optimum Choices, we do not sell vitamins, isolated supplements, herbs or extracted products. We only sell whole food products (superfoods) that promote 100% holistic wellness. Check out the details on the following whole food products:
We encourage you to do your own research and determine what is
right for your body. You deserve more than just the elimination of
symptoms. You deserve total optimum wellness.
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Send e-mail to
Webmaster@OptimumChoices.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
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Consider
this example of using individual parts versus the whole food. If you gave a
child a bicycle in a box and told them to have fun they would have to take a
number of steps before they could have fun. The child would have to unpack the
box of parts, gather together all the tools, read the instructions and assemble
the bicycle. There is less than a 100% probability that the bicycle would
be assembled correctly. However, if you gave the child a kickball they could go
out the door and instinctually start dribbling the ball, kick the ball and throw
the ball against a wall and have fun immediately. Such is the difference between
a completely holistic whole food product and an isolated or natural but
"partially holistic" supplement. When taking an isolated supplement the body has
to assemble the proper enzymes, amino acids, buffer ingredients and other
complementary minerals and substances Nature said are needed for the supplement
to work properly. Sometimes the body even 'robs' other areas of the body of
these vital ingredients. When taking a whole food product, all the proper
enzymes, amino acids, minerals and other complementary ingredients and nutrients
Nature said are needed, the body gets right to work. BioSuperfood and
“…there are insufficient data to justify an alteration in public
health policy from one that emphasizes food and diet to one that
emphasizes nutrient supplements. (“Essential Nutrients: Food or
Supplements?” Journal of the American Medical Association,
2005;294:351-358)