I drink a glass of orange juice every morning and eat a few servings of fruits and veggies each day. Should I still take a Vitamin C supplement?

It may be a good idea to take a supplement. Vitamin C earns an 'A' for all it can do to prevent disease and benefit health. The 70 mg. or so that you get from six-ounce serving of juice may not be enough to provide those benefits. RDAs were originally set to levels known to help prevent diseases attributed to vitamin deficiencies. That means when you take 60 mg. of vitamin C currently recommended, you won't get scurvy, but you may not receive any of it’s other health-giving qualities.

Studies of vitamin C usage are ongoing. Vitamin C benefits and the intake levels required to garner them are still being explored. Here's what we do know so far:

• Vitamin C may help prevent gall bladder disease by helping promote the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids. This prevents the buildup of cholesterol in bile and the formation of gall stones.

• Vitamin C helps prevent certain cancers, particularly of the stomach. Mechanisms for doing so include, inhibiting the growth of bacteria that cause ulcers which may increase stomach cancer risk and blocking the formation of nitrosamines, a potent carcinogen.

• Vitamin C's antioxidant properties may help inhibit the formation of atherocslerosis by preventing the oxidation of 'bad' cholesterol (LDL).

• Vitamin C taken regularly, over an extended period of time, may prevent the formation of cataracts.

• Vitamin C taken at levels of 500 to 1000 mg. at the onset of a cold may reduce the duration and severity of cold symptoms.

All of these benefits seem to occur at an intake level of approximately 200 mg. per day. You can reach this desired level, if you choose your fruit and vegetables wisely, and eat enough of them. However, data suggests that most of us aren't getting our recommended intake of fruits and veggies. So, along with trying to increase your intake of that very important food category, it wouldn't hurt to also take a vitamin C supplement to guarantee you're getting your 200 mg. per day.