Preksha Dhyana Human Body Part 2

Author(s): Jethalal S Zaveri
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

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leafy green vegetables. Yeast, milk, grains, vegetables and nuts are other food sources for these vitamins.
Vitamin C Human beings are one of the few animal species that need a dietary supply of this vitamin. Some years ago, large doses of vitamin C (one to ten grams daily), as a preventive for the common cold, was proposed by the Nobel Prize winner-L. Pauling. According to the latest evidence, taking large doses of this vitamin does indeed reduce the average incidence of colds and lessens the severity of those that occur. Besides, it has been found to exert a cholesterol-clearing action on hardened arteries. Pauling has also reported an anti-cancer activity and large doses of the vitamin have, indeed, significantly prolonged the lives of terminal cancer patients.
Experiments on treating scurvy victims, (swollen and painful joints, fragile bones, bleeding gums and loosened teeth), with various foods showed that fresh citrus fruits cleared up the condition. The actual vitamin which was isolated and studied in the early 1930s, was named ascorbic acid. A vitamin C deficiency interferes with the healing of wounds and produces weight-loss, weakness and the other symptoms of scurvy just mentioned.
The best sources of this vitamin are fresh fruits and vegetables, specially, the citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, grape fruit), tomatoes and strawberries. Leafy green vegetables are also a good source, provided there is not too great loss of vitamin in cooking. (Heat, combined with exposure to light, causes a breakdown of the vitamin and large quantities of water used in cooking may dissolve it out of foods).
Vitamin D is actually manufactured in the body but only under special condition viz. in skin exposed to sunlight. Being a typical fat-soluble vitamin, it is stored in the body for long periods. People who work outdoors and have a large portion of their skin exposed to sunlight need only minimal amount in diet. Melanin in the dark-skinned people, screen
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