The Importance of Vitamin C
Abundant in a variety of fruits and veggies, vitamin C is a powerful micronutrient and is essential to feeling your best. From reversing skin aging to reducing cholesterol, studies have found that vitamin C benefits many aspects of your health.
A deficiency in this important vitamin can take a serious toll on your body, causing symptoms such as impaired immunity, gingivitis and easy bruising. But boosting your vitamin C intake may help ward off illness and infection, enhance iron absorption, and reduce the risk of painful conditions like gout. Some in the medical community believe that vitamin C even holds promise in treating more chronic conditions as well.
Keep reading to learn more about the potential benefits and side effects, plus how you can be sure to get in your daily dose with foods and supplements.
The Role of Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a crucial vitamin found in many fruits and vegetables. It neutralizes damaging free radicals and reduces your risk of inflammation and disease.
Your body also uses vitamin C to synthesize important compounds like collagen, a type of structural protein that makes up connective tissue and aids in wound healing. Vitamin C is also needed for the production of L-carnitine, neurotransmitters, and hormones, such as thyroxine, which regulates your metabolic rate.
During times of stress, your adrenal glands release vitamin C, together with hormones, into your blood. Stressors known to require higher levels of vitamin C include infections, burns, cigarette smoking, and chronic use of medication such as aspirin and oral contraceptives.
Vitamin C Benefits
1. Holds Powerful Antioxidant Properties
Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant in the body, helping to prevent the build-up of free radicals. This could have far-reaching benefits when it comes to disease prevention, with some studies suggesting that a higher intake of vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of developing many chronic conditions.
2. Helps Prevent Anaemia
Anaemia is a condition characterized by a lack of healthy red blood cells, resulting in fatigue, weakness and chest pain. Vitamin C can enhance iron absorption to help prevent anaemia. In fact, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that taking vitamin C with a meal was able to increase iron absorption by up to 67 percent.
3. Boosts Immunity
Studies have repeatedly confirmed the immune-boosting benefits of vitamin C. Getting enough vitamin C may help reduce symptoms and shorten the duration of respiratory tract infections, such as the common cold. Vitamin C is also being studied for its potential role in preventing or treating cancer, heart disease, cataracts and other diseases.
4. Improves Heart Health
Incorporating more vitamin C foods into your diet may help protect the health of your heart. Supplementing with 500 mg of vitamin C daily has been shown to significantly reduce levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and a higher intake of vitamin C is associated with a lower risk of death from stroke or coronary heart disease.
Vitamin C Foods and Sources
The following fruits and vegetables are excellent ways to get your daily dose.
Kiwi fruit
Red capsicum
Orange
Berries
Papaya
Pineapple
Grapefruit
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Mango
Tomatoes
Supplements
One of the most bioavailable supplements is Liposomal Vitamin C, which can penetrate your body’s cells and be absorbed more effectively than standard Ascorbic Acid tablets.