Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Scurvy, Vitamin C, and why it should be in your Emergency Supplies

By Terrance Franklin


Any person who lived a healthy and balanced childhood is likely to be acquainted with the term scurvy, especially as it relates to piracy on the high seas. The truth is that privateers and merchants alike were engaging in a type of bug out nutrition centuries ago, engaging in nutritional preparation to maximize their performance when in events of unstable food supply.

If there wasn't adequate Vitamin C, sailors would experience brown spots on skin, soft gums and eventually bleeding from all orifices that resulted in death.

Vitamin C: one of your important emergency supplies

As among the most significant water soluble vitamins, there are several functions that vitamin C is in charge of, which includes recovery, immunity and oxidative defense, and the maintenance of connective tissue within the body. This makes it one of your important emergency resources in regards to survival.

Vitamin C performs an essential role in bone formation and scar repair. Nowhere is this more vital than when you are in a disaster situation. When the SHTF, you have to recover as quickly as possible. Being laid up by wounds could entirely mess up your plans. It would be an unfortunate irony if you were not able to escape to your properly stored bug out location because you were slowed down by an injury, very slow to get away the increasing tides/angry mob/legions of undead.

Vitamin C is even by far the most powerful anti-oxidants commonly available. It has got a direct relationship with glutathione, that the body uses for cleansing of the liver and other tissues. Being an anti-oxidant, it helps decrease the effect of harmful materials within your body like alcohol.

Ultimately, it is required for the maintenance of connective tissue. This can bring us complete circle to the scurvy example. Without vitamin C, the body can not sustain collagen, the primary protein in your skin, gums and just about everything else. As collagen degrades, so will the tissue it is made of, which is why the skin and gums start to bleed. Without structure, they are unable to do the work of defending your body which can cause death in extreme cases.

Now how will one prevent this?

Different forms, various resources

The most common kind of vitamin C is ascorbic acid. Ascorbic Acid along with the relevant ascorbates (AA bound to a mineral) are one of the uncommon cases where the easiest type to produce is still healthy for you.

The ultimate way to boost C vitamins, in home and in the field

Great news and not so great news. The good news is: vitamin C is produced by nearly every plant and animal on the planet. The not so good news is that humans are among the few species which is not able to make it. So as to take advantage of vitamin C, it must be taken regularly.

The traditional way to supplement vitamin C for the seafarers of the ancient world was via getting citrus on the ship. The problem with this was that fruit only lasted so long. People planning to prep for long term survival would be set until the lemons ran out.

Luckily, vitamin C is found in fruiting plants present in nearly every climate. Foraging berries, cactus fruit or mangoes might enable you get adequate vitamin C to provide. In a most extreme scenario, even eating meat will prevent vitamin C deficiency. Native eskimos in the arctic, without any resources of fruiting plants can make due with organ meats such as caribou liver, seal brain as well as whale skin, that are the same organs your body uses to store vitamin c in the medium term.




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