Newsletter – Vitamin C – Should you be dosing up?

Vit C – Should you be dosing up?

Don’t you just love how winter brings colds and flus to our door? Lots of people start hitting the Vitamin C supplements to combat the dreaded lurgy but do they actually work? Studies have shown that although taking large doses of Vitamin C does not prevent you getting a cold it can actually shorten the duration. This is good news especially as Vitamin C would have to be one of the easiest vitamins to get hold of as it is found in all fruit and vegetables.

One whole orange has 48 mg and a kiwi-fruit 57mg. Vegetables contribute also with 1/3 cup broccoli providing 43 mg and a couple of strips of red capsicum giving you 60mg. Given that we only need 30 mg per day, this should be no problem.

Vitamin C supplements can be very easy to overdose on and large amounts of Vitamin C can prevent the absorption of other nutrients. Excess is generally considered to be in the vicinity of 1000mg or 1 gram. Many Vitamin C supplements are at least 250mg in strength and many people take more than the recommended dose. They do taste like lollies and it is easy for a few of them to slip down without thinking about it. If you are taking a supplement remember to check the dosage.

So the best way to get your dose of Vitamin C is to get stuck into the 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables every day, especially if you feel a sniffle trying to get you.

Keeping warm with a buzz

As the temperature dips, many of us reach for a hot drink and many of you ask me if this is a good choice and whether it is healthy. We know that caffeine is a stimulant that speeds up many organs in our body and it increases heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. Despite marketing claims to the contrary, guarana does contain caffeine and acts in exactly the same way. Green tea lovers are often surprised to find out that it contains caffeine so just check the packaging to make sure. Decaffeinated varieties can also be found in the supermarket. The caffeine content of some common drinks can be seen below.

Technically, caffeine is a diuretic but this does not necessarily mean that it will make you wee excessively. For example; a 200ml cup of tea containing 50mg of caffeine will produce 60ml of urine with the resulting 140ml being part if your fluid intake.

There is no recommended dose of caffeine but experts agree that around 300mg per day is considered to be safe. Your cup of coffee or tea will also be providing you with a dose of antioxidants, which are linked with the prevention of cancer, eye disease and ageing.

So, your morning cuppa will warm you up, keep you hydrated and give you an antioxidant boost. What more could you ask for?

Let me know what you want to know!

Well I hope you enjoyed this first edition of FoodBytes and have found it informative! If you have any burning nutrition questions that you want me to tackle in edition #2, feel free to drop me an email here

I look forward to hearing from you!