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If you're a nightly news devotee, then the 30-second hokum that often passes for nutrition science may confuse you at the very least or derail your long-term health at worst.

Case in point: A small study published in the journal Science, which showed that 200 milligrams of vitamin C caused DNA damage, got ample play from the Biff and Trixie teleprompter set. What your local bubbleheads failed to mention was that the study was done in a test tube, and not in a human, two radically different environments.

Also left out of the report was mention of the thousands of studies showing the safety of vitamin C. The National Academy of Sciences has set 2,000 mg a day as the safe upper limit, and Nobel Prizewinning scientist Linus Pauling took 10,000 milligrams every day until he died at age 93.

You don't need to follow Pauling's extreme lead to safeguard your health, but if you train intensely, you need more vitamin C than the average Buttafucco. Besides being an important antioxidant, vitamin C also helps you recover from tough workouts by repairing connective tissue and supporting your immune system.

HOW TO REALLY TAKE VITAMIN C

Since vitamin C is water-soluble, your morning dose may be long gone by noon. Whatever isn't taken up by the body will be flushed away. Hence, divide your daily intake so that you pop ascorbic acid approximately three times a day, thus ensuring that your body has a ready supply on hand.

# posted by Medical Information : 2:46 AM