Another misconception about vitamin C is that the optimal intake for this essential nutrient is only 60 mg and that this is met through the drinking of a single glass of orange juice.  The “daily requirement”  of 60 mg is the minimum set by the USRDA to prevent the onset of symptoms of scurvy.  But this says nothing of the therapeutic benefits or the potential life enhancing qualities of higher intakes of vitamin C.  This dosage  is what you need if you do not want to develop a potentially fatal nutritional deficiency disease, this much is true. And it is also true that a single glass of orange juice may be sufficient for this.  However there is a great deal of difference between being kept alive and living well.

There are many convincing examples in nature that the optimal intake of vitamin C is much higher than 60mg.  One of these instances in nature is the supply of essential nutrients provided by natural raw foods.  In his book How to Live Longer and Feel Better Dr. Linus Pauling calculates and records the nutritional value of 110 natural raw foods as listed by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.  Dr. Pauling used a wide variety of foods that included nuts, grains, beans, peas, fruits, vegetables and berries.  The average nutrients provided by a daily intake of 2,500 calories was calculated to be 3 times the amount recommended by the food and nutrition board.  For vitamin C, however, the average daily intake provided by 2,500 calories of raw  plant foods is 2,300 mg.  This is nearly 40 times that of the USRDA.  Also, all animals require an array of the same essential nutrients.  All of these nutrients were found in greater abundance in these raw foods than the government agencies say we need for good health.

Vitamin A is essential to all vertabrates for good vision, maintenance of skin tissue and normal development of bones.  Riboflavin(B2), pantothenic acid, pyridoxine(B6), niacin(B3) and cyanocobalamin(B12)  and other essential nutrients are required for good health by the gorilla, chimpanzee,cow, dog, pig, rat, chicken and so on.  These nutrients are no longer synthesized by these animals in their own bodies just like us and they too must receive them from their diet.   All of these nutrients that are required in the diet for us and other vertebrates  like us were found in greater concentrations in 2,500 calories of natural raw foods than the USRDA says we need.   The food and nutrition board may not think we need higher amounts of vitamin c and other essential nutrients but mother nature seems to disagree.  Which one do you want to trust with your health?