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Whether in the form of a fizzy drink or flavored lozenges, cold and flu preventative supplements virtually always highlight vitamin C as one of their key ingredients. And so, what's and so magical about vitamin C? Also known equally ascorbic acid, vitamin C is disquisitional to living healthily. Since the homo body cannot spontaneously generate this nutrient, vitamin C must instead be absorbed from outside sources, such as vitamin supplements or foods that are naturally rich in it.

Commonly found in cold and flu preventative supplements, vitamin C strengthens and speeds up allowed system functionality. Though inquiry does not betoken that vitamin C intake alone can prevent the onset of cold or flu, adequate daily intake may shorten the duration of an infection or lessen the severity of symptoms.

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Vitamin C is crucial for the maintenance of well being. For example, it plays a role in wound healing and helps maintain many essential torso tissues. It also acts as a potent antioxidant and can repair damage from costless radicals, which are linked to aging effects, and disease vulnerability. Additionally, vitamin C tin also forestall anemia, since information technology helps the trunk increase absorption of dietary iron, another vital mineral that the body cannot spontaneously create.

Foods that contain high concentrations of vitamin C have been linked with a lower hazard of cardiovascular disease, like eye set on and stroke. Vitamin C tin can also increase levels of nitric oxide, a compound that widens claret vessels and, in turn, lowers blood pressure. In addition, regular intake of vitamin C, along with other vitamins, has been linked to a decreased run a risk for developing historic period-related cataracts, a leading cause of visual harm in the United states.

Common Sources of Vitamin C

Vitamin C can be hands obtained through the many different foods, including:

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Citrus fruits and juices (orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime and tangerine)
Berries
Melons
Mangoes
Kiwi
Love apple
Broccoli
Red peppers
Spinach
Squash
Potatoes

Cooking these foods may result in the loss of some of the vitamin content, so information technology is ideal to ingest them raw, either whole or juiced. Nowadays, there are as well numerous packaged food products, like cereals, that have been enriched and fortified with vitamin C, so that the nutrient can be easily obtained.

Vitamin C may as well be labeled as "L-ascorbic acid" in supplement form, and most over-the-counter multivitamins contain the recommended daily amount of the vitamin. While information technology is a good source when an private is in demand of a vitamin C boost, supplements are not meant to replace a diet rich in naturally derived vitamin C.

What Happens When You Have Too Much — or Too Little — Vitamin C?

Vitamin C is a h2o-soluble vitamin that can be hands flushed out of the body via urination when information technology is not needed. Therefore, if the main source of vitamin C is from naturally occurring foods, information technology is about-impossible for excess vitamin C to produce side effects. However, taking excessive full-bodied vitamin C supplements may lead to diarrhea or stomach upset.

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Since vitamin C-rich foods are so readily available nowadays, symptoms of inadequate vitamin C intake are also rare in the United States. All the same, malnourished individuals tin experience symptoms of vitamin C deficiency over time, including:

Weakness
Fatigue
Anemia
Easy bruising
Joint pain
Skin breakdown
Weakened molar enamel
Gum inflammation

Severe vitamin C deficiency is referred to as scurvy. Scurvy can be easily treated with increased dietary or supplemental vitamin C. Since vitamin C is crucial in the detoxification of the torso, a lack of vitamin C can compromise the immune system and make an individual more susceptible to diseases and infections. Individuals with bereft vitamin C may notice that it takes longer than usual to recover from a common cold or a physical wound.

Daily Dosage Recommendations:

The daily dosage recommendation for vitamin C is different for everyone, depending on factors such as gender, historic period, lifestyle and current health condition. The recommended daily dosage for vitamin C is at least 75 mg daily for women and 90 mg for men. Since people who are significant, breast feeding, smoking or using oral contraceptives have a lower claret level of vitamin C than others, larger doses of vitamin C may be needed to achieve optimal results in these individuals. Those who have prior or current medical conditions may also require bigger or smaller dosage levels, as recommended by their healthcare providers.

Resources Links:

"Vitamin C" via MedlinePlus
"Vitamin C and Infections" via MDPI
"Extra Dose of Vitamin C Based on a Daily Supplementation Shortens the Common Cold: A Meta-Analysis of nine Randomized Controlled Trials" via Hindawi, BioMed Enquiry International
"Vitamin C" via National Institutes of Health
"Scurvy" via U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Wellness
"Dietary intake and blood concentrations of antioxidants and the chance of cardiovascular affliction, total cancer, and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies" via The American Periodical of Clinical Nutrition
"Dietary vitamin and carotenoid intake and take chances of historic period-related cataract" via The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
"Cardiovascular System" via Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine (via Springer)