Vitamin C does a lot more than help you to get over or avoid the common cold and flu. It is a potent antioxidant that is critical in helping your body to carry out many of its normal processes. Since vitamin C can only be consumed through diet or vitamins and supplements, it is necessary to consider what you could be doing to your body by failing to get enough.
Vitamin C is responsible for the function and repair of your bones, lungs, circulatory system, joints, immune system, and more. The recommended daily allowance by the government is just enough to keep a perfectly healthy person from developing a deficiency disease, such as scurvy. If you are exposed to any type of pollutant, allergen, chemical, or food additive then your daily requirement to stay healthy increases. Even stress and exercise produce free radicals that lead to oxidative stress, greatly increasing the need for vitamin C.
Free radicals are responsible for creating infection. Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, protects cells, proteins and lipids from free radical damage. It also improves the function and life span of immune cells. This helps the body to defend itself from almost every infectious disease. It also has a dramatic effect on existing infections. An article in Life Extension Magazine reported that “studies of vitamin C supplementation in military personnel and other subjects living in close quarters have shown that pneumonia occurred a remarkable 80-100% less often in subjects taking vitamin C than in those who did not supplement with the vitamin”.
Vitamin C is also responsible for the production of collagen and elastin, which are the major components of connective tissues all over your body. All of your bones, joints, blood vessels and organs are constantly experiencing cell death and renewal. They are in constant need of collagen and elastin to repair themselves. Without enough, we experience unhealthy aging, cancers, high cholesterol, degraded neurotransmitters, improper hormone production, and a long list of inflammatory, degenerative, and infectious diseases.
Vitamin C is needed to properly produce cells, absorb calcium and iron, and prevent diseases such as cataracts, cancer, and heart disease. It also is necessary to regulate blood clotting, which prevents clotting and bleeding disorders.
Ascorbic acid is needed for dental health as well. Your gums are generally the first place that you will notice a difference if you’re not getting enough vitamin C. They are made up almost entirely of connective tissue that is stressed every time you bite down or clench your teeth. You may notice your gums most dramatically turning red, swelling, receding, or bleeding around the teeth that touch first when you gently close your jaw. This is because the gums experience the most stress in these areas. Gums that are inflamed or weak due to a lack of vitamin C are susceptible to gum disease. Gum disease starts as plaque, which recent studies have shown cannot form if proper levels of vitamin C are maintained. Even sailors in the 18th century knew that if their gums started bleeding that they were in danger of scurvy. This is still why many doctors use the health of your gums to determine if you’re on your way to cardiovascular disease, arthritis, lung dysfunction, high blood pressure, stroke, and many other health problems.
Ask your doctor about supplementing with vitamin C. If you have stomach or digestive issues, you can take a buffered form of vitamin C that is non-acidic, like sodium ascorbate vitamin C powder.
Sources:
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2006/oct2006_report_vitaminc_01.htm
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/healthconditionsdisease/a/gum_disease.htm
Reprinting:
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About the Author: Phil Le Breton is owner at Wholesale Nutrition. He has a strong interest in helping people achieve greater brain and body health with vitamins and supplements, with an emphasis on vitamin C powder. Wholesale Nutrition has provided the world with the best vitamin C and wholesale vitamins since 1970. Visit http://www.nutri.com to buy high-quality discount vitamins today!
