Vitamin C: What is it and How does it HELP YOU! - a podcast by Discussions with successful health experts such as Ben Greenfield, Terry Wa

Vitamin C: what is it, how does it help? Dr. Jason Jones Elizabeth City NC, Chiropractor

One of the most effective nutrients you can get from food is Vitamin C (some kinds of foods though). This vitamin has been shown to offer a lot of health benefits, including boosting immune system functions, protecting against cardiovascular diseases, skin wrinkling, and a host of other functions.

Little wonder, Vitamin C has received a great deal of attention, and study researcher Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan, states that “higher levels of vitamin C in the blood may be the ideal nutrition marker for overall health.” He added, “The more we study Vitamin C, the better we understand its benefits in protecting our health, from cardiovascular, stroke, cancer, immunity, eye health, to living longer.”

What is vitamin C?

Vitamin C, otherwise called ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that supports a healthy immune system and confers other health benefits. This vitamin is not produced by the body, hence, you need to get it from the foods you eat every day.

Vitamin C is present in many fruits and vegetables, including citrus fruits, strawberries, potatoes, tomatoes, green and red bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and Kiwifruits, among others.

You can enjoy any of these foods either raw or cooked. But studies have shown that cooking fruits and vegetables reduce the vitamin C content. Also, storing these foods for a long time can make them lose their vitamin C content.

So to get the best of vitamin C in foods, ensure you eat them as soon as possible after shopping, and consider microwaving or steaming vegetables for short periods to reduce the loss of nutrients.

Vitamin is also available as an oral supplement, in form of tablets or capsules. But you can get enough vitamin C from a healthy diet. The supplements might not offer antioxidant benefits like vitamin C obtained from natural foods.

However, the recommended daily amount of vitamin C is 75 mg for adult women and 90 mg for adult men. You can get enough of this amount from a balanced diet. But for those who might be susceptible to vitamin C deficiency, you may derive benefits from using vitamin C supplements.

 Nevertheless, ensure you get consent from your doctor before adding any supplement to your diet.

Overdose of vitamin C might cause several effects, such as diarrhea, stomach upset, heartburn, headache, fatigue, and sleepiness.

How does vitamin C help?

As I’ve mentioned earlier, vitamin C offers a lot of health benefits, to keep it simple, here are some benefits:

• Vitamin C is essential for the growth and repair of tissues in the body
• Vitamin C helps heal wounds
• Vitamin C helps to maintain healthy skin, bones, teeth, and cartilage
• Vitamin C fights free radicals in the body, which is important to delay certain heart diseases and cancers and promote healthy aging
• Vitamin C reduces the risk of cartilage loss in people with osteoarthritis
• Higher doses of vitamin C may decrease the length of cold symptoms

Vitamin C has also been shown by research to offer benefits for stress, cold, stroke, inflammation, and macular degeneration.

You can consult Dr. Jason Jones at our chiropractic office in Elizabeth City NC, to learn more about natural foods that offer you enough vitamin C to boost your immune system and overall health.

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