Ved ren animalsk føde blir vitamin C en utfordring(utmaning?) som flere har vært inne på. Mennesker er blant de få dyr som ikke selv kan produsere C-vitamin og er avhengig av tilførsel gjennom kosten. Men det betyr også at andre dyr selv lager C-vitamin. Og spesielt i delene hvor vitaminet blir produsert i disse dyrene, er det betydelige mengder C-vitamin. Så dersom vi spiser disse organene uten å ødelegge vitaminet med for mye varmebehandling, kan vi få i oss nok C-vitamin på en ren animalsk kost til å unngå skjørbuk. Faktisk er det nok med 10 mg per dag.
Men skjørbuk (C-vitaminets rolle i bindevevsdannelse) er ikke den eneste funksjonen til C-vitamin. For effektiv energimetabolisme trengs minst 30 mg. Og for antioksidantforsvar, nevrotransmitter- og hormonproduksjon, trengs det enda mer C-vitamin dersom man vil ha en så god helse som mulig. 75 mg for kvinner og 90 mg for menn er de amerikanske helsemyndighetenes anbefalinger. Og dersom man røyker, trengs 35 mg ekstra ut over dette.
KildeCitera:
As in collagen formation, vitamin C helps in the hydroxylation of carnitine, a compound that transports long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria of a cell for energy metabolism . It participates in the conversions of the amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine to the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine, respectively. Vitamin C also assists in the making of hormones, including thyroxin, which regulates the metabolic rate; when metabolism speeds up in times of extreme physical stress, the body's use of vitamin C increases.(Kilde: Understanding Nutrition, 11.ed, Eleanor Noss Whitney)
http://discovermagazine.com/2004/oct/inuit-paradox/article_view?b_start:int=1Citera:
In fact, all it takes to ward off scurvy is a daily dose of 10 milligrams, says Karen Fediuk, a consulting dietitian and former graduate student of Harriet Kuhnlein’s who did her master’s thesis on vitamin C. (That’s far less than the U.S. recommended daily allowance of 75 to 90 milligrams—75 for women, 90 for men.) Native foods easily supply those 10 milligrams of scurvy prevention, especially when organ meats—preferably raw—are on the menu. For a study published with Kuhnlein in 2002, Fediuk compared the vitamin C content of 100-gram (3.55-ounce) samples of foods eaten by Inuit women living in the Canadian Arctic: Raw caribou liver supplied almost 24 milligrams, seal brain close to 15 milligrams, and raw kelp more than 28 milligrams. Still higher levels were found in whale skin and muktuk.
As you might guess from its antiscorbutic role, vitamin C is crucial for the synthesis of connective tissue, including the matrix of skin. “Wherever collagen’s made, you can expect vitamin C,” says Kuhnlein. Thick skinned, chewy, and collagen rich, raw muktuk can serve up an impressive 36 milligrams in a 100-gram piece, according to Fediuk’s analyses. “Weight for weight, it’s as good as orange juice,” she says. Traditional Inuit practices like freezing meat and fish and frequently eating them raw, she notes, conserve vitamin C, which is easily cooked off and lost in food processing..
En artikkel beregnet på barn omtaler tidligere tiders metoder for å få i seg nok C-vitamin. Deriblant litt mer utfyllende om inuittenes kost.
Havets skrekk og inuittenes hemmelighet