Reasons Why Vitamin C Is Good For You

Forum 8 years ago

Reasons Why Vitamin C Is Good For You

Vitamin C is the most familiar of all the nutrients because of its widespread use as a dietary supplement. Vitamin C is very critical to human beings and all mammals can use their own cells to make Vitamin C. Vitamin C is needed for the growth and repair of tissues in our body and because the body does not store Vitamin C in its tissue, we need to consume it on its regular basis.

Our body needs Vitamin C to make collagen a protein that helps support tendons, ligaments and blood vessels and keeps the skin and other organs together. Vitamin C improves the absorption of iron from plant based foods and helps to strengthen our immunity system to work properly protecting us from diseases were the words of my mother as she made us take at least a fruit daily during our early years, her emphasis on this subject was so much that all the kids in the house could recite her points off-head.

However, before we go on to discuss the benefits of Vitamin C lets examine the sources from which it can be gotten and signs of its deficiency;

*. Fruits and vegetables are the best source of Vitamin C. You won’t really require Vitamin C supplements as Vitamin C is already available in ample amounts in food sources and you can get the recommended amount of Vitamin C by incorporating foods in your diet.

*. Citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruit, and their juices, red and green pepper as well as kiwi fruit contain a huge content of Vitamin C. Other fruits and vegetables which include Vitamin C are broccoli, strawberries, cantaloupe, baked potatoes and tomatoes.

*. Vitamin C is also available widely in the form of dietary supplements. It is available in many forms including, tablets, capsule, drink mix pack packets and crystalline powder. Tablets and capsule range from 25 mg to 1500 mg. Vitamin C crystals are typically available in bottles containing 100 grams to 500 grams of powder. 1 teaspoon of Vitamin C crystals equals to 500 mg.

The Vitamin C content in food may be reduced by prolonged storage and by cooking. Steaming and
microwaving can also reduce Vitamin C content.
Vitamin C deficiency is rare because almost all the food that we include in our diet contain some amount of Vitamin C. Smoking cigarettes lowers the absorption of Vitamin C so smokers have a higher risk of Vitamin C deficiency.

Signs of Vitamin C deficiency include:

*.Dry and splitting hair

*.Gingivitis or inflammation of gums, bleeding of gums, rough, dry and scaly skin.

*.Reduction of wound healing rate, easy bruising, nosebleed

*.Decreased ability to ward off infections

*.The most severe form of Vitamin C deficiency is scurvy. Scurvy leads to the formation of liver spots on the skin, spongy gums and bleeding from mucous membranes. A person with this ailment looks pale, feels depressed and is partially immobilised. In advanced scurvy there are open wound which subsequently leads to loss of teeth and eventually death.

*.Low levels of vitamin C may lead to high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, stroke, cancer and atherosclerosis, the build-up of plaque that can lead to heart attack and stroke. Make sure you eat enough Vitamin C foods to reduce the risk of developing these conditions.

Health Benefits of Vitamin C;

*. Immunity: A healthy dose of Vitamin C protects our body from infections and maintains healthy bones and teeth. It also improves our body’s wound healing ability and keeps us immune from bacteria, viruses and infection. Not only is it a well-known component of our immune system, it is also necessary for collagen, the main structural protein found in connective tissue.
Vitamin C taken orally helps wound to heal faster and better.

*.Common cold (FLU): Vitamin C reduces the severity of cold symptoms and acts as an effective antihistamine that decreases the unpleasant effects of flu, including inflammation, runny nose and aches. It also controls the allergy that causes cold. It reduces histamine level and often shortens the duration of cold in carriers.

*. Antioxidant: Vitamin C is a powerful and effective antioxidant that protects our body from free radicals that cause oxidative stress, or ”cellular rust” that can lead to a host of severe medical conditions such as atherosclerosis that can result in both heart disease and stroke.

*. Hypertension: Vitamin C has shown to lower blood pressure and decreases the probability of hypertension, as well as serious health problems that may accompany with high blood pressure.
Vitamin C also ensures proper dilation of blood vessels which helps to protect us against certain diseases like atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, heart congestion and severe chest pains.

*. Lead Toxicity: Vitamin C helps to lower the level of lead in our blood dramatically. Lead toxicity can lead to various behavioural and developmental problems, especially in children living in urban areas. This leads to learning disabilities, lowered IQ and stunted growth in children. Adults may suffer from kidney damage and high blood pressure owing to lead toxicity.

*. For Weight Loss: Vitamin C fruits and juices are proven to help people lose fat and maintain healthy weight. Popular dieticians and nutritionists always include Vitamin C fruits and vegetables in diet charts because there is scientific evidence that shows that eating Vitamin C rich foods on a regular basis helps to lose weight significantly. Vitamin C fruits lowers insulin, thus instead of storing sugar and converting them to fats, it uses it as a fuel that leads to weight loss.

*. Stress: Vitamin C helps the body to deal with stress by reducing the elevated levels of stress,
hormone and cortisol. Cataracts: Our eye pupils require Vitamin C to function properly. Vitamin C deficiency can lead to cataracts, where the lens becomes increasing opaque, causing blurry vision and leads to blindness in adults. High intake of Vitamin C fights against cataracts and increases the amount of blood flow to the eye.
1000 mg Vitamin C per day stops cataracts in their tracks and improves vision.

Having said all the above it is of cause not out of line to say Vitamin C consumption during this period will help stay healthy.