Comprehensive Library Of Resveratrol News

A predicament of old age is that vitamin C blood levels which once were maintained in youth cannot be easily maintained in the senior years of life.  Some of this inability to maintain healthy vitamin C levels emanates from the loss of recycling of vitamin C in red blood cells.

Vitamin C (aka ascorbic acid) as an antioxidant donates electrons to nearby unbalanced atoms that lack an electron (so-called destructive free radicals).  As vitamin C donates electrons it converts into an oxidized form called dehydroascorbic acid (DHA), which is then re-converted back to its antioxidant form as ascorbic acid within red blood cells.

When ascorbic acid is added to cells in a lab dish, the intracellular level of vitamin C increases markedly by 2.6-fold compared to cell with no vitamin C added.  Whereas pre-treatment with resveratrol increases vitamin C by 3.3-fold.  Researchers conclude resveratrol treatment can significantly increase intracellular vitamin C levels even after vitamin supplementation.

This internal process of regenerating vitamin C inside red blood cells reduces the demand for vitamin C by ~100-fold.  Otherwise Homo Sapiens wouldn’t survive.

Unfortunately, with advancing age, the ability to recycle vitamin C declines.

Both the recommended intake for vitamin C (Daily Value, 60 mg/day displayed on vitamin supplement labels; and Recommended Daily Allowance 75-90 g/day for adult females and males) do not factor for this loss of recycling with advancing age.  Therefore, consumers should disregard labels on vitamin C dietary supplements in regard to their adequacy (% of Daily Value).  ####