Vitamin C Boosts Life Expectancy and Removes Plaque from Blood Vessels

A high intake of vitamin C is shown to improve life expectancy by six years. Not only does vitamin C help prevent the diseases that shorten life, but the vitamin itself has life sustaining properties. Vitamin C is known to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. It repairs blood vessels and helps reduce heart disease, which are the leading causes of death in the United States and other countries.

The vitamin C intake of more than eleven thousand Americans, aged of 25 to 74, was studied from 1971 to 1974. Then the participants were followed for another ten years. Those with the higher levels of serum (bloodstream) vitamin C lived longer. With only 300 mg a day, heart disease was reduced by 50 percent in men and about 40 percent in women. Those with higher levels of vitamin C in their blood lived six years longer than their counterparts.

With even higher doses of vitamin C, researchers found that plaque was removed from artery walls, thereby reducing further risk from heart attacks. Doses of 1,500 were found to be effective. Studies with guinea pigs showed that a five week regime of 5,000 mg per day prevented plaque build-up, while only 60 mg a day did not prevent the damage to blood vessels. The doses used to remove plaque have been found to be 1,500 a day for one year.

The mechanism that is used by vitamin C is via the production of collagen. Vitamin C has the effect of increasing collagen production, and collagen is important in maintaining the cell wall of the circulatory system: veins, arteries and capillaries.
The minimum daily dose may be sufficient for some, but to repair damage and restore health, larger doses are needed. Many health advocates recommend doses of 1,000 to 3,000 per day, spread out during the day. Pregnant women can double these amounts of vitamin C.

Side effects from vitamin C are rare, but a deficiency can cause gingivitis, bleeding gums, nosebleeds, swollen joints, anemia, and weight gain due to a slowing of the metabolism.

Vitamin C is water-soluble and leaves the body in urine, which is why dosing is recommended at frequent intervals throughout the day. It is preferable to obtain vitamin C from foods. Sources of vitamin C are fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits, along with green peppers, leafy greens, broccoli, tomatoes, strawberries, white potatoes, winter squash, berries, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower.

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Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes offer up a cravable, inviting taste that appeals to many diners and are loaded with tons of vitamin A, C and B6. The most abundant form of vitamin in the sweet potato is vitamin A, as it is in the form of beta-carotene. Recent research at Kansas State University suggests that vitamin A rich foods can benefit those who are smokers or those who receive second-hand smoke. It was found that the carcinogen, benzo (a)pyrene found in cigarettes, promotes vitamin A deficiency. Also, a study on laboratory animals fed a diet lacking vitamin A showed that they developed emphysema just by not having enough vitamin A.

Sweet potatoes are also rich in vitamin B6 which helps convert a harmful by-product (hornocystenine) of a cell process into a benign molecule. Therefore B6 can help lower your chances of a heart attack or stroke as high levels of hornocystenine can cause these illnesses.

We can’t forget that sweet potatoes are also high in vitamin C which helps boost immunity as they eliminate free radicals from the body and can help prevent such diseases as colon cancer, diabetic heart disease and atherosclerosis.

According to Eastern philosophy sweet potatoes help with bloody stools (associated with colon cancer), diarrhea, constipation, jaundice, edema, ascites, night blindness, diabetes, breast abscess, boils, and skin lesions. As good as sweet potatoes are you need to make sure you do not overeat them as over consumption can cause gas, heartburn, indigestion, abdominal distention and acid regurgitation.

The following recipes makes an easy to prepare snack with all of the benefits that sweet potato nutrition has to offer. If you want to create a sweet-spicy combination mix some low-fat sour cream with your favorite hot sauce as a firy dipping accompaniment.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

* 4 sweet potatoes, cleaned, cut into halves and then each half cut into about
4-6 strips
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* Salt and white pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375º.
2. In a large bowl toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, salt and pepper until all the sweet potatoes are well coated.
3. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake about 25-30 minutes or until they are tender.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 1/4 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1/4 cup butter, melted

Preparation:
Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Combine remaining ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Drop by tablespoons onto hot greased griddle or skillet and fry, turning once, until browned on both sides.
Makes about 24 pancakes.