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What does Vitamin C do?
Vitamin C is essential for good health, but what does vitamin C do?
Vitamin C (also known as asorbic acid) is a water-soluble vitamin that can't be produced by the body and
must be obtained from food or supplements. Because vitamin C is water-soluble, the body excretes it instead
of storing it. This is why you need to make sure that you get enough vitamin C on a daily basis.
Severe vitamin C deficiency has been known for many centuries as the potentially fatal disease scurvy. By
the late 1700s, the British navy was aware that scurvy could be cured by eating oranges or lemons, even though
vitamin C would not be isolated until the early 1930s. Scurvy is rare in developed countries because it can be
prevented by as little as 10 mg of vitamin C daily. However, cases have occurred in children and the elderly
on very restricted diets.
Vitamin C has many important functions within the body. It's required for the growth and repair of tissue
in all parts of the body. It's necessary to form collagen, an important protein used to make skin, scar tissue,
tendons, ligaments and blood vessels. It's essential for the repair and maintenance of cartilage, bones and
teeth. It's used during any type of healing process. It helps strengthen the immune system.
Vitamin C is also an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect the body's cells against the effects of free radicals.
Free radicals can cause cell damage that leads to aging and may lead to the development of certain diseases.
Vitamin C has been promoted as a treatment for various illnesses, such as the common cold, heart disease,
high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, but the evidence
for these claims is mixed.
The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for vitamin C is 90 mg per day for adult men and 75 mg per day for adult
women, but many scientists and health experts believe that these amounts are too low. Many recommend anywhere
from 200 mg to 2,000 mg per day, and some even recommend much higher amounts. High amounts of vitamin C can lead
to stomach upset and diarrhea, but vitamin C toxicity is very rare since the body doesn't store the vitamin.
All fruits and vegetables contain some amount of vitamin C. Some of the fruits and vegetables that contain
the highest amounts are citrus fruits and juices, peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, kale, cauliflower,
cabbage, spinach, mustard and turnip greens and cantaloupe. Supplements are a convenient and reliable source of
vitamin C for people who don't eat many fruits or vegetables.
In conclusion, vitamin C is an important nutrient and you need to make sure that you're getting enough of it
every day.
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