With warmer weather on the way our activity schedules are heating up, we need to focus on hydrating, keeping our energy up, and staying generally healthy. Although it’s always best to maintain your health with a proper diet, and by drinking lots of water, our modern lifestyles don’t always allow time for us to consume the full spectrum of foods we need, as well as drink enough water. Keeping that in mind we should always be supplementing with Vitamin C. The actual amount of vitamin C we require on a daily basis has been a matter of debate for quite a while. We’ve all heard the stories of early sailors whose journeys had to be cut short due to scurvy. Time spent at sea was limited until the British discovered that scurvy could be avoided by carrying citrus fruits onboard.
Vitamin C is required for the synthesis of collagen, that intercellular glue that keeps skin, lungs, arteries, the digestive tract, and all organs intact. It is a potent anti-oxidant, protecting against free radicals, pollution, carcinogens, heavy metals, and other toxins. It is strongly anti-viral and mildly anti-bacterial. Energy cannot be made in any cell, brain, or muscle without adequate supply of vitamin C. The adrenal glands have a high concentration of vitamin C, essential for stress hormone synthesis. So how important is vitamin C? Vitamin C is so central, in so many chemical reactions in the body, that without it, life is simply not possible. Did you know only humans, guinea pigs, and fruit bats don’t make their own? Try to look for a Vitamin C in the form of Mineral Ascorbate. This form is the most readily absorbed by the body. It closely mimics the vitamin c that other animals make in their bodies, and is completely pH neutral.
The question of whether liquids or pills are better has been going on for a while. In Europe, it is generally accepted that vitamins and supplements should be taken in liquid form. The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a report on calcium that stated, in order for calcium to be absorbed in sufficient quantities, it must be taken in a liquid form. The liquid vs. tablet debate is now being studied for vitamin C. It is generally accepted that the gastrointestinal tract works much harder in processing pills that it does liquids. It is reasonable to assume that a liquid form of vitamin C is much more acceptable, or bioavailable, to the body than the pill form. Taking vitamin C in liquid form becomes even more important in the summer as we all seem to be even more dehydrated than usual. Perhaps one of the most important functions of keeping hydrated is ensuring that our electrolytes are kept in balance.
Electrolyte is the medical and scientific term for salts, specifically ions. Electrolytes are important because they are what your cells (especially nerve, heart, and muscle cells) use to maintain electrical communication across their cell membranes and to carry electrical impulses (nerve impulses, muscle contractions) across themselves and to other cells. Your kidneys work to keep the electrolyte concentrations in your blood constant despite changes in your body. For example, when you exercise heavily, you lose electrolytes in your sweat, particularly sodium and potassium. The same also occurs when you are sick with the flu. When you are ill with flu or cold, your kidneys tend not to be able to keep up with the bodies demands for electrolytes, hence the experienced feelings of mental sluggishness, achy bones and muscles. These electrolytes must be replaced to keep the electrolyte concentrations of your body fluids constant. Make sure that if you are supplementing your electrolytes, the supplement either has a little sugar in it or you eat a piece of fruit with the supplement. A little sugar is needed to help pump the electrolytes into your cells; no sugar, no electrolytes.
So in the summer heat, look to supplement your electrolytes. The more we sweat, the more we need to drink fluids to replenish our electrolytes. Please try and stay away from sugar heavy, artificially flavoured and coloured sports drinks. A great option is non-GMO certified Ener-C. Ener-C is a great electrolyte, multivitamin drink mix featuring mineral ascorbate, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium and B vitamins. It is flavoured with real fruit juice powder and comes in 7 deliciously effervescent varieties. Ener-C will help to ensure that you are getting all you can out of your body this summer.
By: Richard Pollock of Ener-C
