Vitamin C is an essential daily vitamin and our body cannot produce it. Yet it has many roles and has been associated with impressive health benefits .
It is water soluble and is found in many fruits and vegetables, including oranges, strawberries, kiwi fruit, peppers, broccoli, kale and spinach.
But exotic fruits like acerola or camu camu contain up to 40 times more !
The recommended daily intake of vitamin C is 75 mg for women and 90 mg for men .
Although it is generally advised to get your vitamin C intake from food, many people turn to supplements to meet their needs.
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Here are 7 scientifically proven benefits of taking a vitamin C supplement :
1. Vitamin C may reduce your risk of chronic disease
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant which can strengthen your body's natural defenses .
Antioxidants are molecules that strengthen the immune system. They do this by protecting cells from harmful molecules called free radicals.
When free radicals accumulate, they can promote a condition known as the name of oxidative stress, which has been linked to many chronic diseases .
Studies show that consuming more vitamin C can increase your blood antioxidant levels by up to 30%. This helps the body's natural defenses to fight inflammation .
2. Vitamin C can help manage high blood pressure
Many adults around the world suffer from hypertension .
High blood pressure puts you at risk for heart disease, the leading cause of death worldwide .
Studies have shown that vitamin C can help lower blood pressure in people with or without high blood pressure.
An animal study found that taking a vitamin C supplement helped relax the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart, which helped lower blood pressure levels .
Additionally, an analysis of 29 human studies found that taking a vitamin C supplement reduced systolic blood pressure (the upper value) by 3.8 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (the lower value) by 1.5 mmHg, on average, in healthy adults.
In adults with hypertension, vitamin C supplements reduced systolic blood pressure by 4.9 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.7 mmHg, on average .
3. Vitamin C may reduce your risk of heart disease
heart disease are the leading cause of death worldwide .
Many factors increase the risk of heart disease, including high blood pressure, rate raised from triglycerides or LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol.
Vitamin C may help reduce these risk factors , which may reduce the risk of heart disease.
For example, an analysis of 9 studies involving 293,172 participants combined found that after 10 years, people who took at least 700 mg of vitamin C daily had a 25% lower risk of heart disease than those who did not. vitamin C supplement .
Another analysis of 13 studies looked at the effects of taking at least 500 mg of vitamin C daily on risk factors for heart disease, such as blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
The analysis revealed that taking a vitamin C supplement significantly lowered LDL (bad cholesterol) by approximately 7.9 mg/dL and blood triglycerides by 20.1 mg/dL .
In short, it appears that taking or consuming at least 500 mg of vitamin C daily may reduce the risk of heart disease . However, if you are already consuming a diet high in vitamin C, supplements may not provide further heart health benefits.
4. Vitamin C May Lower Blood Uric Acid Levels and Help Prevent Gout Attacks
Drop is a type of arthritis that affects approximately 4% of adults worldwide .
It is incredibly painful and involves inflammation of the joints, especially those of the big toes. People with gout experience swelling and sudden, severe pain attacks .
Gout symptoms occur when there is too much uric acid in the blood. Uric acid is a waste product produced by the body. At high levels, it can crystallize and deposit in joints.
Interestingly, several studies have shown that vitamin C can help reduce uric acid in the blood . and, therefore, to protect against gout attacks.
For example, a study of 1,387 men found that those who consumed the most vitamin C had significantly lower blood uric acid levels than those who consumed the least .
Another study followed 46,994 healthy men for 20 years to determine if vitamin C intake was linked to the development of gout. It found that people who took a vitamin C supplement had a 44% lower risk of gout!
Additionally, an analysis of 13 studies found that taking a vitamin C supplement for 30 days significantly reduced blood uric acid compared to a placebo .
Although there appears to be a strong link between vitamin C intake and uric acid levels , more studies on the effects of vitamin C on gout are needed.
5. Vitamin C helps prevent iron deficiency
Iron is an important nutrient that has a variety of functions in the body. It is essential for making red blood cells and transporting oxygen throughout the body.
Vitamin C supplements may help improve iron absorption from food. Vitamin C helps convert iron that is poorly absorbed, such as plant-based sources of iron, into a more easily absorbed form .
This is especially helpful for people on a meatless diet, as meat is a major source of iron.
In fact, just consuming 100 mg of vitamin C can improve iron absorption by 67% .
As a result, vitamin C may help reduce the risk of anemia in people prone to iron deficiency.
In one study, 65 children with light deficiency iron anemia received a vitamin C supplement . The researchers found that the supplement alone helped control their anemia .
If your iron levels are low, eating more vitamin C-rich foods or taking a vitamin C supplement can help improve your blood iron levels .
6. Vitamin C Boosts Immunity
One of the main reasons people take vitamin C supplements is to boost their immunity , as vitamin C is involved in many parts of the immune system.
First, vitamin C helps encourage the production of white blood cells called lymphocytes and phagocytes, which help protect the body against infections .
Second, vitamin C helps these white blood cells function more efficiently while protecting them from damage by potentially harmful molecules, such as free radicals.
Third, vitamin C is an essential part of the skin's defense system . It is actively transported to the skin, where it can act as an antioxidant and help strengthen skin barriers .
Studies have also shown that taking vitamin C can shorten wound healing time .
Additionally, low levels of vitamin C have been linked to poor health outcomes.
For example, people with pneumonia tend to have lower vitamin C levels, and vitamin C supplements have been shown to shorten recovery time .
7. Vitamin C protects your memory and thinking as you age
Madness is a general term used to describe the symptoms of poor thinking and poor memory.
It affects more than 35 million people worldwide and usually occurs in older people
Studies suggest that oxidative stress and inflammation near the brain, spine, and nerves (known as the central nervous system) can increase the risk of dementia .
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant . Low levels of this vitamin have been linked to a reduced ability to think and remember .
Additionally, several studies have shown that people with dementia may have lower blood levels of vitamin C.
Additionally, a high intake of vitamin C from food or supplements has been shown to have a protective effect on thought and memory as you age .
Vitamin C supplements can help with conditions like dementia if you don't get enough vitamin C from your diet . However, more human studies are needed to understand the effects of vitamin C supplements on nervous system health .
Unproven Vitamin C Claims
Although vitamin C has many scientifically proven health benefits , it also has many unsubstantiated claims supported by weak evidence or no evidence at all.
Here are some unproven vitamin C claims :
- Prevents colds. While vitamin C appears to reduce the severity of colds and recovery time by 8% in adults and 14% in children, it does not prevent them .
- Reduces the risk of cancer. A handful of studies have linked vitamin C intake to a lower risk of several cancers. However, most studies have shown that vitamin C does not affect the risk of developing cancer .
- Protects against eye diseases. Vitamin C has been linked to a reduced risk of eye diseases like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. However, vitamin C supplements have no effect or may even cause harm .
- Can treat lead toxicity. Although people with lead toxicity appear to have low levels of vitamin C , there is no strong evidence from human studies showing that vitamin C can treat lead toxicity .
The essential
Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin which must be obtained from diet or supplements.
It has been linked to many impressive health benefits, such as increasing antioxidant levels, lowering blood pressure, protecting against gout attacks, improving iron absorption, boosting immunity and reducing the risk of heart disease and dementia.
Overall, vitamin C supplements are a simple and effective way to boost your vitamin C intake if you're struggling to get enough.
