That's Fit

Vitamin C might help you lose a few, and it might help you keep those few off too.

Research shows that the human body needs sufficient vitamin C to burn fat, the key to keeping excess weight from stacking up. Nothing too difficult about what to do with this news: Pop your C supplement or chew on some vitamin C-rich foods before your next fitness feat. Even better, snack on it throughout the day if you can. Try some grapefruit in the morning, have an orange for lunch, and fill your dinner plate with treats like red bell peppers, broccoli, and brussels sprouts.

Some background: Vitamin C study participants with low concentrations of C in their blood walked on a treadmill for one hour and burned 25% less fat than people with adequate C in their blood. It didn't take much to bring fat-burning levels up, though. A dose of C is all it takes to create carnitine, a substance that turns fat into fuel.

How much C do you need? Click here to find out.

The perfect food to fuel your body is just a shopping trip away. It's sweet, crisp, and full of important nutrients. Can you guess what it is?

New lab studies on mice reveal that vitamin C has shown promise as a powerful fighter in the battle against cancer, says a report released by the U.S. National Institutes of Health's Molecular and Clinical Nutrition Section.

Although clinical trials on humans are yet to be conducted, the research opens up the possibility of using the vitamin as more of a medication than a nutrient. Vitamin C has long been lauded for its supposed powers to treat many ills, from colds to heart disease. The vitamin received wide public interest after the late scientist Dr. Linus Pauling suggested it may have cancer-fighting properties.

However, researchers are quick to point out that their latest findings in now way suggest that vitamin C is a cure for cancer; rather it may be a viable treatment option. And even if the treatment works, it would likely be used in combination with other drugs.

When you really get down to it, one of the main objectives of life is to stay alive for as long as we can. On average, we occupy a place on this planet for about 75 years. Some of us hang around for a little longer, while others take an earlier ferry. Still, barring any unfortunate accident or contraction of a terminal illness at a younger age, 75 seems to be the norm.

Keeping your stay on this wonderful world of ours from being cut short sometimes requires a good amount of work (regular exercise, adequate amounts of sleep, stressing less, etc.). However, there are also some easy ways to prevent early departure, many of which involve nothing more than a revised grocery shopping list. For the next eight days, we'll offer one death-defying food choice each day to help keep you healthy and happy for many more years to come.

Death-Defying Food #2: Oranges

Having higher levels of vitamin C in your bloodstream can greatly reduce your risk of stroke, according to an article recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This comprehensive study (which included 20,649 British men and women) revealed that people with the highest level of vitamin C had a 42 percent lower risk of stroke than people with the lowest levels. Even when outside variables -- such as age, sex, smoking, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, exercise habits, etc. -- were controlled for, these findings remained the same.

Why is that people are willing to pay extra for an iced coffee, yet they complain if their hot coffee is served cold? Shouldn't they feel like they got a deal?

Does the same thing happen with iced tea? If so, the complainers might actually have a reason for complaining, because hot tea contains more catechins -- disease-fighting antioxidants linked to a reduced risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer -- than iced (or just cold) tea.

Brewing the leaves in steaming water releases these catechins, and they tend to become less and less potent as time passes and the water temperature cools. Don't worry, though, they stick around for a few hours, so it's not necessary to down your spot of tea while it's boiling hot in order to obtain the health benefits.

And, on a separate but very related note, try adding a squeeze of lemon to your tea. Research shows that consuming vitamin C with tea greatly impacts the body's ability to absorb catechins.

Having just gotten off the phone with my health insurance company, and being reminded of the industry of incompetence it has grown to become, I am that much more thankful that I'm in good health.

To help me stay that way, I may start adding vitamin C to my daily cup of green tea. Green tea is rightly known as being a very healthy beverage, due to its high antioxidant content. But, as a new study from Purdue University found, adding vitamin C to it actually makes these antioxidants (specifically, catechins) more available to the body.

Typically, less than 20 percent of catechins remain effective after digestion. Adding juices high in vitamin C or the simultaneous ingestion of a vitamin C supplement, however, markedly increased the absorption of this antioxidant. Sounds like I may be adding a bit of lemon to my green tea from now on.

What you put inside your body eventually shows on the outside, reports Reader's Digest. Just ask the 100 dermatologists who analyzed the skin of 4,000 women ages 40 to 74. What they found is that eating habits, weight, history of sun exposure, and menopausal status all affect the skin. Specific to diet, though, the good doctors discovered the following.

• Women with higher vitamin C intake had significantly fewer wrinkles. Makes sense since vitamin C is key in the formation of collagen, which protects the skin from damage and keeps it strong and elastic. For best results, be sure to get vitamin C not through a supplement but in its natural form -- think orange juice, citrus fruits, and tomatoes.
  

• Those who ate plenty of the nutrient linoleic acid had skin that was less dry and fragile. Known to keep skin moist, this stuff can be found in green leafy veggies, nuts, and plant-based oils.

• Women who ate more carbs and fat had more wrinkles.

It makes sense than that we put in our bodies what is truly good for us, on the inside and out. Check out the following gallery for 11 healthy -- and antioxidant-rich -- goodies.

"No longer easy on the eyes, 'cause these wrinkles masterfully disguise the youthful boy below," croons Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard in a song off their 2005 album Plans. If you were to ask a scientist from the Corporate Research and Statistics Group to evaluate these lyrics, they'd tell you Mr. Gibbard probably needs more vitamin C in his diet.

That's because research into the effects of vitamin C on skin revealed that of 4,000 people examined for a 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, those who consumed the highest amounts of this vitamin in their diets had significantly fewer wrinkles than people with the lowest levels. Researchers posit that the antioxidants found in vitamin C help increase collagen production and regeneration, thereby keeping skin looking younger.

However, not everyone subscribes to this 'An orange a day keeps the wrinkle away' construct. Many experts believe that it's too difficult, if impossible, to ascertain which specific foods actually contributes to wrinkles, or the lack thereof.

This past week, we wrapped up our America Takes It Off coverage by revealing that you, our readers, have lost an astounding 231 lbs! But just because we're not checking in with you anymore doesn't mean you should give up on losing -- let's keep up the good work! And, in honour of our continued efforts to look great for summer, I'm going to talk to you about one food that is notorious for helping you slim down: grapefruit.

You've probably heard about the Grapefruit Diet. Now, we would never advocate a fad diet like this one, but you know what? It does have some merit -- adding grapefruit to your diet has been proven to help you lose weight. Why, you ask? Well, in addition to being high in fibre and water to help flush out your system, it's thought that grapefruits can help lower insulin levels, which can lead to weight loss.

Ugh, supplements. For a lot of people they're a "must have" for a healthy diet, and although I don't disagree, I'm also really bad at taking them because it's just so confusing determining what exactly I need -- the list of "recommended" supplements is at least a mile long it seems! But a nutritionally-complete diet is almost impossible to come by through food alone these days, and many supplements can give an extra boost of valuable disease and age-fighting properties to help fitness goals be that much easier to both achieve and maintain. But if you're like me and find yourself either overwhelmed or just generally intimidated by the prospect of taking regular supplements, this list of the 5 most valuable supplements compiled by experts for Natural Health magazine could be a big help! Here they are:

When I think interesting and engaging reading material, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition immediately jumps to mind. Nothing gets me going like page after page of almost incomprehensible empirical findings written by some of the most cerebral people on the planet. Okay, fine ... so I don't actually read the journal ... or many of the articles for that matter. I'm more of an abstract guy, probably a carry-over from my Cliff Notes days back in high school.

That all being said, in the course of skimming through a recent edition of this well-respected journal, I happened upon a study on vitamin C that caught my attention. Thanks to the abstract, I learned right away that having higher levels of vitamin C in the bloodstream may help reduce the risk of stroke. Upon further examination of the article itself, I found that this comprehensive study (which included 20,649 British men and women) revealed that people with the highest level of vitamin C had a 42 percent lower risk of stroke than people with the lowest levels.

Even when outside variables -- such as age, sex, smoking, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, exercise habits, etc. -- were controlled for, these findings remained the same. Researchers posit that high vitamin C levels may signal a healthy lifestyle that lowers the risk of stroke, specifically a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

When you're grabbing a meal on the run, most of us know better than to order our meal with fries. Why? They're loaded with fat and sodium, and will make a big caloric dent in our daily intake.

But when a sandwich isn't enough, what can we get to go with our fast food entree? Most places now offer sides of stuff like salad, fruit or other healthy fare. And at Wendy's, you can even enjoy potatoes without having to order them deep-fried and covered in salt -- you can order a baked potato on the side.

But are baked potatoes a healthier option than fries? One would think so, based on the fact that they're cooked in the oven instead of the deep fryer. But what baked potatoes lack in deep-fried goodness, they make up for with add-ons like sour cream, bacon bits, butter and cheese. Still, how bad can it be? You tell me.

Each week, we'll be naming a Super Food and offering unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

Peas are one of my favourite vegetables -- especially when they're fresh from the garden. Crunchy, juicy and just a little bit sweet, they're absolutely delicious. Even in the winter, when they come frozen from a bag in the freezer, they're still really tasty. And usually, things that taste good aren't good for you (and vice versa) but peas are the exception; not only do peas taste good, they're really good for you too.

But just what about green peas makes them so nutritious?

Certain lifestyle changes have been shown to affect, if slow down, the progression of age-related dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Here are some of the more common recommendations, excerpted from the website of Dr. Andrew Weil.

• Follow a diet rich in antioxidants, with an emphasis on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts and seeds.
• Supplement with vitamins E and C.
• Institute a program of daily exercise to improve circulation and keep the brain oxygenated.
  
• Get adequate mental exercise through reading and socializing.
• Consider taking a daily low-dose aspirin, as doing so has been shown in studies to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.
  

If age-related dementia or Alzheimer's is a concern you have for yourself or a loved one, speak with a physician about additional methods of prevention.

If running long distances, biking for miles and miles, or swimming vast expanses of water is what you're into, you may want to consider not eating that extra orange.

A recent examination of vitamin C's role in the production of ATP (a cell's primary energy source) led to the discovery that it may actually interfere. According to the study, vitamin C prevented increases in cell mitochondria and the enzymes that produce energy.

Spanish researchers published their findings in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, where they asserted that endurance athletes should make efforts to avoid eating too much vitamin C, as it may impede their fitness progress and performance.