Why is Vitamin C such a big deal?
Vitamin CÂ (Ascorbic Acid) helps to protect and regulate important functions in our bodies, namely the immune system. It speeds up the recovery of colds and flu and helps to keep us going. Stress, trauma, injury, and illness can add a lot of strain on our bodies which can deplete our Vitamin C levels. That is where our Vitamin C supplements come in. Our products offer a natural and top-quality supplement to help improve and maintain your health.
What exactly is Vitamin C?
Vitamin CÂ is also known as Ascorbic acid and is a very important nutrient in the body. Without it, your body is in for a very nasty ride. Vitamin C is found in many foods, especially fruit and vegetables, such as oranges and lemons.
In the older days, when sea voyages and exploration were still fairly new, sailors would often get sick and even die during their long voyages. They suffered from Scurvy. It was later discovered that Scurvy was caused by a vitamin C deficiency. Sailors began making sure that they had lemon juice on board during long voyages, even before Vitamin C was identified. Scurvy is relatively rare in developed countries nowadays but it is still possible to develop the condition in third world countries where malnutrition and starvation is a problem, as well as in individuals who don’t eat a lot of fruit or vegetables.
Today, vitamin C is known for a few other benefits. Most popular is its ability to boost your immunity and prevent colds and flu. Vitamin C plays a variety of roles in the body, from helping to heal wounds to helping your body to produce collagen. Â
Since Vitamin C is so important, why don’t we look at some things we know about it?
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Did you know these facts about Vitamin C?
- The levels of vitamin C in your body can be a pretty good indicator of stress that your body may be experiencing. Vitamin C is one of the first vitamins that you lose when your body is stressed. When I say that your body is stressed, I not only refer to the daily stress that you endure while going to work and dealing with stressful situations but also what your body endures when you are sick or living an unhealthy lifestyle. Unhealthy habits, such as excessive drinking and smoking, also deplete the vitamin C in your body.
- Vitamin C is destroyed when cooking food at high temperatures or for an extended amount of time. Vitamin C is also water-soluble, so it is easily absorbed into the water. It is thus easily lost when cooking with water that evaporates or is discarded during cooking. If you want to preserve the vitamin C in the foods that you are preparing, I recommend a faster cooking method at lower temperatures, such as stir-frying. You can also make sure not to use water in your cooking, or to incorporate the water into the food.
- Individuals who have experienced physical trauma, injury, or illness will need slightly more Vitamin C than healthy individuals, smokers and alcoholics will also most likely need an extra dose of vitamin C. Conditions that cause you to lose fluids such as fever or prolonged diarrhea will also cause you to lose Vitamin C.
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Vitamin C may do you some much-needed good
We all know that Vitamin C is good for us. We wouldn’t need it in our diets if it wasn’t. Let’s look at some benefits that Vitamin C can provide.
- Vitamin C may help to improve recovery time for colds and flu:
Despite what most of us think, Vitamin C does not cure a common cold or the flu, but It may help to reduce the time that you have to suffer from the sniffles. Vitamin C can also help to prevent complications from colds and flu, such as lung infections, ensuring that the cold remains just a cold.
- Vitamin C is a powerful Antioxidant:
With all the pollutants in the air and water around us only increasing, it is no wonder that Antioxidants have become a popular way to reduce the toxins that build in our bodies as time goes on. These toxins and pollutants create free radicals as our bodies metabolize them. These free radicals in our body cause what we call Oxidative stress. Oxidative stress has caused chronic diseases such as certain types of cancer, such as Breast and Lung Cancer. Reducing the amount of oxidative stress may improve your quality of life and could help to prevent chronic health problems. Lowering oxidative stress could reduce inflammation and boost your immunity, which helps your body fight off a wide variety of illnesses.
- Vitamin C may help to lower your risk of heart disease:
Oxidative stress has also been linked to an increased risk of heart disease. It is said that oxidative stress caused by free radicals may trigger a buildup of cholesterol and fat on the walls of your arteries, which is also known as Arteriosclerosis. Some studies have shown that oxidative stress could also cause Hypertension. Vitamin C seems to lower blood pressure in those with this condition by acting as a diuretic which removes extra fluid from your body and thus lowers the pressure in your arteries.
- Vitamin C may help to ease symptoms of Gout:
Gout is a type of Arthritis that is caused when crystals made from uric acid form inside your joints. This causes inflammation in said joints and often becomes very painful. Vitamin C has shown some promise in reducing the amount of uric acid in your body, which is what the crystals are made of. The antioxidant abilities of Vitamin C may play a role in this reduction, as uric acid seems to be higher in folks with more oxidative stress. The anti-inflammatory abilities of Vitamin C also play a part in easing symptoms and pain caused by gout.
- Vitamin C may help your body to absorb more iron:
Anemia is normally caused when you have an iron deficiency. Iron is needed to create red blood cells which carry oxygen throughout your body. There are different types of anemia, but for now, let’s focus on the one caused by a deficiency in iron.
There are two kinds of iron and are categorized by where they come from. Plant-based iron is called Non-heme iron and is said to be more easily absorbed in the body when taken with Vitamin C. Then there is Heme iron, which is found in meat and is more easily absorbed in the body even without Vitamin C.
- Vitamin C may help to improve your immunity:
Vitamin C helps your body to produce white blood cells. These white blood cells almost act as a security force and fight off infections. It also helps to protect your white blood cells from oxidative stress caused by free radicals. It is also said that Vitamin C can help to improve the white blood cell’s functionality, helping them to work better while protecting them.
- Vitamin C may help to reduce the risk of developing neurodegenerative conditions:
As of this year, there is no known cure for mental disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Depression, Anxiety, Parkinson’s, or Huntington’s disease, but Vitamin C may play a part in helping to protect your mind from age and disease-related mental decline. Some studies show that a lack of Vitamin C may increase your risk of developing a variety of neurological conditions. It is also possible that a regular intake of Vitamin C may lower your risk of developing Clinical Depression and Anxiety.
- Vitamin C may speed up the healing of canker sores:
Canker sores are those annoying and often painful little sores that often pop up in and around your mouth. They are sometimes caused by vitamin deficiency, stress, acidic foods, or when your teeth accidentally nick the skin in and around your mouth. It is also possible that a weakened immune system can cause canker sores to appear. Vitamin C may help to improve your immunity, which can help your body heal canker sores faster. Keeping your immune system healthy may help to ensure that canker sores never redden the corners of your mouth again.
Let’s look at Vitamin C deficiency:
- What is Vitamin C deficiency?
Vitamin C deficiency is caused when there isn’t enough Vitamin C in your diet, or when your body is undergoing a considerable amount of stress which is depleting your natural levels of vitamin C. As stated earlier in the blog, some individuals are at a higher risk of a vitamin C deficiency, such as those who do not enjoy a varied diet. Smokers can also experience higher vitamin C requirements. Malabsorption disorders may also cause a deficiency, as the body may not absorb the needed amount of vitamins.
- Symptoms of Vitamin C deficiency
Common symptoms of Vitamin C deficiency include feeling fatigued, experiencing bleeding gums, small red dots over your skin, and slower wound recovery times. Individuals who ingest less than 10 milligrams per day for a month are the most likely folks to experience the deficiency which is rare in developed countries. If the deficit is not addressed and treated, a person may develop scurvy. It is a condition that has plagued sailors in the days when nutrition wasn’t understood very well. Because food wasn’t so easily stored on the ships for long voyages, fruits and vegetables were not readily available, which meant that sailors often had vitamin deficiencies. Early symptoms of Scurvy include losing weight, losing your appetite, fatigue, and irritability. More severe symptoms may include anemia, pain all over your body, and loss of teeth.
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Vitamin C may have a few risks:
Vitamin C poses little to no risk in healthy individuals that take recommended amounts of vitamin C supplements. However, individuals that suffer from conditions that increase the accumulation of iron should be careful of taking Vitamin C supplements, as vitamin C improves the absorption of Iron and can cause an overload. Too much iron in the body may cause damage to your heart, central nervous system, and liver.
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Speak to your healthcare provider before using Vitman C supplements if you are undergoing cancer treatments, if you have chronic kidney disease or if you have a condition called Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase as the supplements may negatively affect or exasperate these conditions.
Higher doses of Vitamin C may interfere with the sugar testing of urine in those with diabetes and may increase the risk of developing kidney stones. Potential side effects include digestive issues such as Diarrhea and nausea, acid reflux, Vomiting, and stomach cramps.
Vitamin C may interact with certain medications.
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Possible interactions include:
- Estrogen: Vitamin C may lower the rate at which estrogen leaves the body, so speak to a health care professional if you are using estrogen-based medications or contraceptives.
- Aluminum-based medications: these medications include phosphate binders. Vitamin C may increase the amount of aluminum that your body absorbs, which can be dangerous to individuals with kidney issues. It is recommended to use vitamin C two hours before and four hours after taking antacids that contain aluminum.
- Levothyroxine, which is a thyroid hormone treatment: Vitamin C may increase the absorption rate of this medication.
- Protease inhibitors: Vitamin C may reduce the effectiveness of antiviral medications.
- Statins and Niacin: Vitamin C may reduce the effectiveness of these medications.
- Warfarin: Higher doses of Vitamin C may affect how you respond to this medication.
Final thoughts on Vitamin C:
Vitamin C is an excellent way to boost your overall health and help prevent illnesses from slowing you down. Our Vitamin C offers a safe, natural, and affordable way to increase your vitamin C levels when you are feeling a little under the weather and fruit or vegies do not give you the amount of Vitamin C that you need, or when you are under an unusual amount of stress. Vitamin C may also help your body absorb more iron, which can help individuals to stay on their feet during menstruation when they need a little extra iron.
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References:
- 8 Potential Causes For Those Pesky Mouth Sores. (2022). Rifkin Dental. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.rifkindental.com/blog/8-potential-caus...
- Allan, P. K. (2022, January 14). Finding the Cure for Scurvy | Naval History Magazine - February 2021 Volume 35, Number 1. U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magaz...
- Cristiano, C. (2018, February 28). How to Reduce Your High Blood Pressure and Take Down Hypertension. Healthline. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/health/high-blood-press...
- Crosta, P. (2017, December 5). Everything you need to know about scurvy. Medicalnewstoday. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155758#s...
- How to Treat and Prevent Canker Sores. (2021, August 2). Hicks Dental Group. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.hicksdentalgroup.com/canker-sore-treat...
- Lefton, J. (2022, July 26). Vitamin C: Uses, Side Effects, Dosage, and Interactions. Verywell Health. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.verywellhealth.com/the-benefits-of-vit...
- Man, S., Elbers, A. M. E., W.G, P., Straaten, O. V., & M, H. (2018, August). Vitamin C: should we supplement? : Current Opinion in Critical Care. LWW. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://journals.lww.com/co-criticalcare/fulltext/...
- Nordqvist, J. (2021, January 5). Vitamin C: Why is it important? Medicalnewstoday. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219352#o...
- Raman, M. R. S. (2020, February 19). 7 Impressive Ways Vitamin C Benefits Your Body. Healthline. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-c-ben...
- Saha, S. K., Lee, S. B., Won, J., Choi, H. Y., Kim, K., Yang, G. M., Dayem, A. A., & Cho, S. G. (2017, July 17). Correlation between Oxidative Stress, Nutrition and Cancer Initiation. PubMed Central. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC55360...
- Vitamin C. (2020, November 17). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitam...
- Vitamin C. (2021, May 27). The Nutrition Source. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitam...
- Vitamin C Powder (Oral). (2022, May 20). Drugs.Com. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.drugs.com/cons/vitamin-c-powder.html
- Zelman, K. M. (2008, April 8). The Benefits of Vitamin C. WebMD. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-benefits-o...
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