Super C - Wellness - Ester-C

Entire books have been devoted to the benefits associated with vitamin C. It helps build better bones, boosts the immune system and contributes to a healthy heart. It also helps heal wounds, strengthens blood vessels and aids eyesight. And there are those who believe it may even prevent cancer.

Yet, just when it seems you couldn't ask for a more naturally beneficial nutrient, some researchers now claim that, yes, as a matter of fact, you can. Its name is Ester-C
Arizona physician Edwin Goertz, MD, discovered Ester-C 20 years ago while seeking help for his arthritic wife. Goertz's spouse couldn't tolerate traditional forms of vitamin C because it upset her stomach, so Goertz, an inventor of sorts, mixed water, ascorbic acid and calcium ascorbate to come up with a non-acidic alternative he dubbed Ester-C.

Today, even doctors who question the true superiority of Ester-C over plain old vitamin C agree it's ideal for patients who are sensitive to the traditional form. Chris Meletis, ND, dean and medical officer of the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon, says he has prescribed Ester-C for 10 years without complaint.
"I use it when patients need full vitamin C coverage as an antioxidant or for immune system support, yet cannot tolerate the normal quantity of pills that plain old vitamin C would require. I'm working on the premise that Ester-C has increased viability or potency--a little bit goes a little further."

But advocates say Ester-C isn't only for those sensitive to vitamin C.
Phil Brown, DVM, is the Ester-C product manager for Inter-Cal Nutraceuticals, which holds the patent for the formula. He describes Ester-C as "the Pentium processor" of the vitamin world.

The Supplement May Even Benefit Pets

"Ester-C is a complex of calcium ascorbate plus vitamin C metabolites. A lot of people call metabolites `door openers.' If you open a door wider, more people can get through.

"What we believe is these vitamin C metabolites open the door for more vitamin C to get into the cell. It also keeps vitamin C in the cell longer. That's basically why Ester-C is different."
And, whereas vitamin C dissolves in water, Brown says Ester-C doesn't, making it a natural for skin lotions, such as moisturizers and sunscreens.

The supplement may even benefit pets.
"I'm a veterinarian. That's how I got involved with the company in the first place," Brown says.
"They asked me to show that Ester-C would help dogs walk better. I didn't think it would, but I did the test anyway. And the old dogs on Ester-C actually began to walk better within a week.

"It helped their joints. It's also an antiinflammatory, so, overall, I think, the dogs just felt better."
Brown notes that 2001 sales of Ester-C to pet companies were up by 50 percent.
Not everyone, however, is quite so enthusiastic about Ester-C's benefits.

Pamela Hannaman-Pittman, ND, a naturopath at Bastyr University in Seattle, says the university dispensary doesn't carry Ester-C, but even if it did, she's not sure she'd recommend it.
"There hasn't been enough unbiased, third-party research to show that Ester-C is significantly better than ascorbic acid, either buffered or unbuffered. Because of that, I haven't seen any reason to ask patients to incur the added expense of that product."

And the added expense can be significant. An informal Better Nutrition survey of retailers in different areas of the country, for example, found that 500 mg of Ester-C can cost roughly 25 percent to 30 percent more than an equivalent dose of ordinary vitamin C.
Brown says Ester-C has few critics, but he acknowledges that skeptics have called for more research. Meletis agrees.

"In my opinion," he says, "the jury's still out on Ester-C. I don't believe the literature is conclusive yet.

"My recommendation for the average patient is to take vitamin C along with bioflavonoids. For people who have sensitive gastrointestinal systems--or esophagitis, gastritis, ulcers or other conditions that prevent them from taking large doses of vitamin C--often I will recommend Ester-C.
"But the best way to get any nutrient or vitamin--including vitamin C--is from good healthy food sources."

Ester C

Each caplet of this product contains 500 mg of vitamin C in the form of calcium ascorbate, along with 200 mg of citrus bioflavonoids. It also contains 110 mg of calcium from the calcium ascorbate.

Most vitamin C supplements use ascorbic acid. But, as the name implies, this form is acidic. And some find that this upsets their stomach. But the calcium in the Ester C "buffers" the ascorbate and thus lessens any stomach upset. Also, it is claimed that calcium ascorbate is better absorbed than ascorbic acid.

The citrus bioflavonoids are added to Ester C as this is how vitamin C is found in nature, in "complex" with bioflavonoids. Bioflavonoids are antioxidants in their own right and help to increase the absorption of vitamin C. As the name implies, such bioflavonoids are found in citrus fruits like oranges. They are especially concentrated in the "white" portion on the inside of the rind. It is for this reason that it is recommended when peeling an orange that you leave as much of the white part on as possible.

That said, my experience with vitamin C is probably rather unique. Generally speaking, if I take more than a couple of hundred milligrams of vitamin C it will cause me to urinate frequently. So I generally need to avoid multiple vitamin and minerals supplements that have 500 mg or more of vitamin C in them. However, I am able to take Jarrow's Multi Easy Powder and Multi 1-3 with no problems despite them both containing 500 mg of vitamin C. But they both have it in the form of calcium ascorbate. So I can only assume that the calcium ascorbate is being better absorbed than ascorbic acid and thus does not cause me any problems.

But 500 mg is somewhat lower than what some recommend for vitamin C when taking it for its antioxidant protection or to reduce post-workout soreness. So I have tried taking additional vitamin C. And I've found that I can use as much as 1000 mg of vitamin C in my post-workout drink via Jarrow's Vitamin C Powder even though it is ascorbic acid. But if I try to take it at other times then I run into the urination problems. I can only assume that this is because my need for vitamin C is so great after a workout that I am fully absorbing it.

With my problem with ascorbic acid at times other than during my workouts and with my lack of problem with the calcium ascorbate in the Jarrow multis, I have tried supplementing with Ester C. Since it contains vitamin C in the same form as the multis, I figured it would not be problematic. And in fact, I did not run into the same urination problem with Ester C as I do with ascorbic acid. However, Ester C makes me drowsy. And if I take for several days in a row, it makes me light-headed. I'm not sure why this is as I do not get drowsy or light-headed from the Jarrow multis. Maybe it is the citrus bioflavonoids or the combination thereof.

But whatever the case, I cannot use Ester C on a regular basis. However, if I have trouble sleeping at night, I find that taking one caplet helps me to get to sleep. So I keep a bottle of Ester C on my nightstand so I can reach as need be.
Finally, it should be noted that Ester C is a trademarked combination that includes both calcium ascorbate and the bioflavonoids. Several different brands of Ester C are available in varying strengths. I am recommending Natrol's brand here as it has the same amounts as what I have used. But Jarrow Formulas has a version of "Buffered Vitamin C" that contains calcium ascorbate but without the bioflavonoids. I have not tried it, so I cannot say if it would have the same effect on me or not.

Vitamin C In Human Health And Disease

Ascorbic acid is one of the important water soluble vitamins. It is essential for collagen, carnitine and neurotransmitters biosynthesis. Most plants and animals synthesize ascorbic acid for their own requirement. However, apes and humans can not synthesize ascorbic acid due to lack of an enzyme gulonolactone oxidase. Hence, ascorbic acid has to be supplemented mainly through fruits, vegetables and tablets. The current US recommended daily allowance (RDA) for ascorbic acid ranges between 100–120 mg/per day for adults. Many health benefits have been attributed to ascorbic acid such as antioxidant, anti-atherogenic, anti-carcinogenic, immunomodulator and prevents cold etc. However, lately the health benefits of ascorbic acid has been the subject of debate and controversies viz., Danger of mega doses of ascorbic acid? Does ascorbic acid act as a antioxidant or pro-oxidant ? Does ascorbic acid cause cancer or may interfere with cancer therapy? However, the Panel on dietary antioxidants and related compounds stated that the in vivo data do not clearly show a relationship between excess ascorbic acid intake and kidney stone formation, pro-oxidant effects, excess iron absorption. A number of clinical and epidemiological studies on anti-carcinogenic effects of ascorbic acid in humans did not show any conclusive beneficial effects on various types of cancer except gastric cancer. Recently, a few derivatives of ascorbic acid were tested on cancer cells, among them ascorbic acid esters showed promising anticancer activity compared to ascorbic acid. Ascorbyl stearate was found to inhibit proliferation of human cancer cells by interfering with cell cycle progression, induced apoptosis by modulation of signal transduction pathways. However, more mechanistic and human in vivo studies are needed to understand and elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-carcinogenic property of ascorbic acid. Thus, though ascorbic acid was discovered in 17th century, the exact role of this vitamin/nutraceutical in human biology and health is still a mystery in view of many beneficial claims and controversies.

VITAMIN C

Vitamin C, also referred to as ascorbic acid or ascorbate, belongs to the water-soluble class of vitamins. Humans are one of the few species who lack the enzyme to convert glucose to vitamin C (13). Ascorbic acid (AA) is an odorless, white solid having the chemical formula C6H8O6. The vitamin is easily oxidized to form dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA), and thus oxidation is readily reversible. Vitamin C is a generic name for all compounds that exhibit the same biologic activity as AA. Consequently, the term includes both AA and DHAA. The importance of vitamin C was first was discovered in 1747. During the 16th century numerous sea voyagers died due to the disease known as scurvy. James Lind found that men suffering from scurvy were cured when given oranges and lemons and he published his findings in the Treatise of the Scurvy in 1753. He developed a hypothesis based upon the results he observed; although his ideas were incorrect, he was the first person to understand the importance of what would later be called vitamin C. These findings were not widely accepted by the rest of the world and scurvy continued to lead to wide spread death throughout the 19th century (17). Finally, in 1907 scurvy was induced in lab animals and this opened a new opportunity to understand the disease. Around 1930 two scientists working independently isolated and published their findings on vitamin C. The men found that vitamin C prevented and treated scurvy. The term ascorbic acid was adopted to describe its ability to prevent scurvy. The vitamin was then synthesized in the laboratory during 1933 (5).

Supplements For Toning Your Blood Vessels

Several supplements have been found beneficial in maintaining or restoring normal blood-vessel tone.

Vitamin C. By itself, vitamin C can also improve blood vessel tone. In a study of patients with heart disease, researchers found that 2,000 mg of vitamin C protected against endothelial dysfunction after a high-fat meal. Similarly, 1,000 mg of vitamin C blunted the endothelial dysfunction caused by elevated blood levels of homocysteine.

L-Arginine. This amino acid is the precursor to nitric oxide, one of the key regulators of endothelial function. Nitric oxide increases endothelial flexibility, and studies have found L-arginine supplements (6 to 15 grams daily) helpful in angina pain and congestive heart failure. Lower doses, such as 2 grams (2,000 mg) daily can help treat erectile dysfunction. L-arginine works the same way as prescription drugs for erectile dysfunction -- that is, by increasing nitric oxide levels and improve blood-vessel tone. Vitamin C may further improve the activity of L-arginine.

Garlic. Long revered for its health benefits, garlic is rich in antioxidants and increases nitric oxide production. In a study of 15 men with coronary heart disease, researchers found that 2.4 grams of aged garlic extracts reduced endothelial dysfunction by 44 percent.

Alpha-Lipoic Acid. This antioxidant has long been used in Europe to treat symptoms of diabetic nerve disease. In a recent study at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, researchers reported that 300 mg of alpha-lipoic acid improved enthothelial function by almost 50 percent, and the antioxidant also enhanced the benefits of a drug used to treat heart disease.

Flavonoids. Flavonoids are a family of more than 5,000 potent antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables. In a recent study, Mary Engler, Ph.D., R.N., found that blood-vessel tone improved after subjects consumed 1.6 ounces of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate daily for two weeks. The improvements appeared related specific to increases in epicatechin, one of the antioxidant flavonoids in dark chocolate.

In sum, the health of your total circulatory system has a major effect on your overall risk of developing heart disease. Research on endothelial function has clearly shown that eating deep-fried foods can have a disastrous effect on your blood vessel tone. In contrast, healthier foods and certain supplements can help you stay buff inside. And who wouldn't want to be buff?

A Nutritional Approach To Immunity

Supplements shore up defenses during cold and flu season
The human body is continually protecting itself from the outside world. To shield itself from harmful environmental stimuli, the body employs its cells, biochemicals, organs and tissues. The complex interaction of these physiological systems produces immunity. Some of these systems have dual roles: The digestive system, for example, not only extracts and absorbs nutrients from foods but also destroys pathogenic organisms that may be present in foods. Other immune system components are more focused: White blood cells are specifically designed to destroy invading organisms.

One of the immune system's more extraordinary features is its ability to respond to the environment. When a threat is encountered, the immune system can mount an attack specifically designed to neutralize it. This is demonstrated most clearly in the antigen-antibody interaction. Antigens are proteinlike substances that identify living matter, much like biochemical name tags. When a white blood cell encounters another living organism--a bacterium, virus or normal human cell--it checks the name tag. When the system is working properly, if the tag says anything other than "self," the white blood cell considers the organism a hostile invader. Other immune cells are alerted and information gleaned from the antigen is used to design antibodies precisely configured to destroy both the antigen and the organism that carried it into the body.

Defects in any of the components of the immune system can impair its ability to recognize and neutralize invading organisms and thus increase susceptibility to infectious disease.

Bone-Degrading Substances Also Produced By Gums' Own Cells

Our gums' own cells produce the substances that lead to the degeneration of the jawbone. This is one of the findings in a dissertation that Py Palmqvist will defend at Umea University in Sweden on January 19. The findings are important to our understanding of how inflammation leads to loosening of the teeth, arthritic rheumatism, and prostheses detaching from the body.

The dissertation shows that certain signal substances in the body, so-called cytokines, have the ability to stimulate the cells in bones to degenerate and that these cytokines are produced not only by white blood corpuscles but also by cells in the gums, so-called gum fibroblasts. The production of the cytokine interleukin-6 and its closest relatives, interleukin-11 and leukemia inhibitory factor, is stimulated by certain inflammatory cytokines and is inhibited by other anti-inflammatory cytokines from white blood corpuscles. The findings are important to our understanding of the interplay between local cells in the gums and white blood corpuscles immigrating from the blood that regulates the degradation of bone in diseases involving loosening of the teeth.

The skeleton of a healthy adult human is constantly being renewed, with some parts degrading and being replaced by new bone, on the one hand, to exchange old bone for new bone and, on the other hand, to adapt the structure of the bone to new loads. This occurs at a rate of about 10 percent of the entire bone tissue being replaced each year. In pathological conditions, the reconstruction process can be altered so that the degradation increases and the new growth cannot replace all the degenerated bone. This occurs, for example, in most of the bones in the bodies of patients afflicted with osteoporosis as a result of changes in the amounts of sex hormones. It also occurs locally in certain parts of the skeleton where inflammatory processes are underway. In patients with inflamed gums, the inflammation process can affect the replacement of the bone around the teeth in the jaws so that the bone is lost. The teeth will then become looser and looser until they fall out­gum inflammation has led to loosening of the teeth.

In the same way, in patients with arthritic rheumatism, an inflammation can cause the bone in the joint to be lost, leaving the patient with pain and more and more limited joint function. Inflammation is also the cause of the loosening of certain implants in joints and in the skeleton.
The findings are significant for our understanding of how inflammation processes lead to the degradation of bone in diseases involving loosening of the teeth, arthritic rheumatism, and the loosening of prostheses in the skeleton.

The Swedish Research Council bears national responsibility for developing the country's basic research towards attainment of a strong international position. The Council has three main tasks: research funding, science communication and research policy. Research is the foundation for the development of knowledge in society, and the basis of high-quality education. Research is also crucial as a means of enhancing welfare through economic, social and cultural development.

What Is Gum Disease?

Gum disease is a bacterial infection of the tissues and bones that surround and support the teeth. It is also called periodontal disease.
Gingivitis is mild gum disease that only affects the gingiva, or gums, the tissue surrounding the teeth. Gum disease that progresses and spreads below the gum line to damage the tooth-supporting tissues and bone is called periodontitis.

• Gingivitis causes red, swollen gums that bleed easily when brushed. Because gingivitis usually doesn't cause pain, many people don't get the treatment they need.
• Periodontitis develops if gum disease progresses. The gums pull away from the teeth, leaving deep pockets where bacteria can grow and damage the bone that supports the teeth. Gums can also shrink back, or recede. This can make the teeth look longer. Teeth may become loose, fall out, or have to be removed.

What causes gum disease?
Your mouth constantly produces a clear, sticky substance called plaque that contains bacteria. The bacteria in plaque make poisons, or toxins, that irritate the gums and cause the tissues to break down. If you don't do a good job of removing plaque from your teeth, it can spread below the gum line and damage the bone that supports the teeth. With time, plaque hardens into a substance called tartar that has to be removed by a dentist or dental hygienist.

You are more likely to get gum disease if you:

• Do not clean your teeth well.
• Smoke or use spit tobacco.
• Have gum disease in your family.
• Have a condition that makes it harder for your body to fight infection, such as:
• Uncontrolled diabetes, AIDS, or leukemia.
• A high level of stress.
• A diet low in nutrients.

Gum Disease Advances

What are the symptoms?
Healthy gums are pink and firm, fit snugly around the teeth, and do not bleed easily. Early-stage gum disease (gingivitis) causes:

• Gums that are red, swollen, and tender.
• Gums that bleed easily during brushing or flossing.

As gum disease advances, it causes more noticeable symptoms, such as:

• Gums that pull away or recede from the teeth.
• Persistent bad breath.

• Pus coming from the gums.
• A change in how your teeth fit together when you bite.
• Loose teeth.

How is gum disease diagnosed?
To diagnose gum disease, your dentist will do an exam to look for:

• Bleeding gums.
• Hard deposits (calculus or tartar) above and below the gum line.
• Areas where your gums are pulling away or receding from your teeth.
• Pockets that have formed between your teeth and gums.

Your dentist or dental hygienist may take X-rays of your teeth to look for bone damage and other problems.

How is it treated?
If you have gingivitis, you will probably be able to reverse it with daily brushing and flossing and regular cleanings at your dentist's office.

If your gum disease has advanced to periodontitis, your dentist or dental hygienist will clean your teeth using a method called root planing and scaling. This removes the plaque and tartar buildup both above and below the gum line. You may also need to take antibiotics to help get rid of the infection in your mouth. If your gum disease is severe, you may need to have surgery.

How can I prevent gum disease?
While gum disease is most common in adults, it can affect anyone, even children, so good dental habits are important throughout your life:

• Brush your teeth at least twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.
• Floss once a day.
• Visit your dentist for regular checkups and teeth cleaning.
• Don't use tobacco products.

Having gum disease may increase a pregnant woman's risk of having a premature, low-birth-weight baby. 1 Also, a recent study of older adults found a direct link between heart disease and the bacteria that cause gum disease. 2 So taking good care of your teeth and gums may have benefits beyond keeping your mouth healthy.