Facts on Vitamin C

There are many interesting facts on vitamin C and how it interacts with your body. The more you understand about this important nutrient, the more you will realize how essential it is your health.

Vitamin C is very important to maintaining good health.

Perhaps the most important thing you need to know about vitamin C is that it can help you stay well on a day-to-day basis. Vitamin C is essential for optimal immune function, and eating a diet high in this nutrient can help avoid conditions such as the common cold. Besides fighting off invaders, your immune system is also responsible for fighting the growth of cancer cells, so a healthy diet that includes a good dose of vitamin C is important for cancer prevention.

Another of the important facts on vitamin C you need to know is that it is water-soluble, meaning your body cannot store it. This means that if you take too much, you will excrete the excess quantity in your urine, or it can potentially cause digestive upset resulting in diarrhea. If you begin to experience stomach irritation within a few hours of taking a large dose of vitamin C, stop taking it until the next day. In extreme cases, too much vitamin C can adversely affect kidney function.

That fact can change from person to person. Age and overall health can dictate how much vitamin C a person needs, though the daily recommended dosage by the FDA is 160 mg. While this is nowhere near the maximum amount of vitamin C that a person can absorb in a day, this is the minimum amount required to ward off diseases such as scurvy.

It is pretty difficult to overdose on vitamin C if you are getting it from natural sources alone. As for supplementation, doctors generally recommend not taking more than 1000 mg three times a day, and ask that you space it out so that you don’t overload your system all at once. Remember, vitamin C cannot be stored in your body, so taking more than 1000 mg at once will do you no good and will probably just upset your digestive system.

• British sailors are called “limeys” because they used to suck on limes while at sea to prevent scurvy.
• Did you know that foods such as guava, broccoli, kiwi, and Brussels sprouts are higher in vitamin C than oranges?
• People who smoke need on average an additional 35 mg of vitamin C every day than people who don’t smoke.
• Vitamin C, in the form of ascorbic acid, is used to preserve the fresh color of fruits and vegetables after they have been cut. Try sprinkling a little lemon juice on avocado slices to keep them from browning overnight.
• While human (and a few other species, such as guinea pigs) are unable to make their own vitamin C, many mammals can. Over time, the human species seems to have lost the ability to manufacture the vitamin, though scientists are not sure why.
• While vitamin supplements are better than nothing, your body will not absorb as much vitamin C from a pill as it will from an orange or other C-rich food. Vitamins from natural sources are more bioavailable than from supplements.
• Vitamin C aids the body’s absorption of iron. The next time you eat an iron-rich food, such as red meat, consider mixing it with a high-C food as well to maximize the benefits of both. Foods such as broccoli and spinach are high in both, and therefore pack a double-health punch!

If you’d like to read more about this wonder vitamin, here are a few links to guide your research:

• The University of Florida’s PDF on vitamin C facts
• The Mayo Clinic’s report on taking too much vitamin C.
• The NIH’s Vitamin C fact page.
• The Vitamin C Foundation has a lot of information on this important vitamin.

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