Welcome to another week of Well Being. I know the last topic may not have been the most interesting, as noted by the lack of replies, so hopefully this week will be more fruitful. This time we will be getting back into the world of nutrients. The topic for this article is probably the most well-known nutrient among the world of vitamins and minerals: Vitamin C.

Also know as Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin C was chosen for this week because again, it is so popular among people, and also because there is a lot of information on it. Almost too much. While searching through the vast amount of tidbit on Vitamin C, it became clear that at least two Well Being articles would have to be made to give out the basics of everything that is talked about it. Doing this also helps me in a way because now I have two weeks to find something that will make for a good topic for Week 15 of this this series. And I already have one in mind. This week's article is collectively taken from a few sites with pages about Vitamin C. Medecinenet.com, healthdiairies.com and health.nytmes.com are the main sites that were used. This week we will focus on what Vitamin C is and the health benefits. Part 2 will list more more in-depth sources of the Vitamin C, the effects of Vitamin C deficiency and additional information you might be interested in.


Vitamin C

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin that is necessary for normal growth and development. It is vital for all creatures. Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water. Leftover amounts of the vitamin leave the body through the urine. That means you need a continuous supply of such vitamins in your diet. Eat vitamin-C-rich fruits and vegetables raw, or cook them with minimal water so you don't lose some of the water-soluble vitamin in the cooking water. Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients, experts say. It may not be the cure for the common cold (though it's thought to help prevent more serious complications). But the benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and even skin wrinkling.

Vitamin C is necessary for the growth, development and repair of all body tissues. It's involved in many body functions, including formation of collagen, absorption of iron, the immune system, wound healing, and the maintenance of cartilage, bones, and teeth.

Vitamin C is one of many antioxidants that can protect against damage caused by harmful molecules called free radicals, as well as toxic chemicals and pollutants like cigarette smoke. Free radicals can build up and contribute to the development of health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and arthritis.

Water-soluble vitamins must be continuously supplied in the diet to maintain healthy levels.
Vitamin C is easily absorbed both in food and in pill form, and it can enhance the absorption of iron when the two are eaten together.

Deficiency of vitamin C is relatively rare, and primarily seen in malnourished adults. In extreme cases, it can lead to scurvy -- characterized by weakness, anemia, bruising, bleeding, and loose teeth.

A recent study published in Seminars in Preventive and Alternative Medicine that looked at over 100 studies over 10 years revealed a growing list of benefits of vitamin C.

"Vitamin C has received a great deal of attention, and with good reason. Higher blood levels of vitamin C may be the ideal nutrition marker for overall health," says study researcher Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan. "The more we study vitamin C, the better our understanding of how diverse it is in protecting our health, from cardiovascular, cancer, stroke, eye health [and] immunity to living longer."

"But," Moyad notes, "the ideal dosage may be higher than the recommended dietary allowance."

How Much Vitamin C Is Enough?
Most of the studies Moyad and his colleagues examined used 500 daily milligrams of vitamin C to achieve health results. That's much higher than the RDA of 75-90 milligrams a day for adults. So unless you can eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, you may need to take a dietary supplement of vitamin C to gain all the benefits, Moyad says. He suggests taking 500 milligrams a day, in addition to eating five servings of fruits and vegetables.

"It is just not practical for most people to consume the required servings of fruits and vegetables needed on a consistent basis, whereas taking a once-daily supplement is safe, effective, and easy to do," Moyad says. He also notes that only 10% to 20% of adults get the recommended nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

Moyad says there is no real downside to taking a 500-milligram supplement, except that some types may irritate the stomach. That's why he recommends taking a non-acidic, buffered form of the vitamin. "The safe upper limit for vitamin C is 2,000 milligrams a day, and there is a great track record with strong evidence that taking 500 milligrams daily is safe," he says.


Benefits of Vitamin C

Stress
"A recent meta-analysis showed vitamin C was beneficial to individuals whose immune system was weakened due to stress -- a condition which is very common in our society," says Moyad. And, he adds, "because vitamin C is one of the nutrients sensitive to stress, and [is] the first nutrient to be depleted in alcoholics, smokers, and obese individuals, it makes it an ideal marker for overall health."

Colds
When it comes to the common cold, vitamin C may not be a cure. But studies show that it can help prevent more serious complications. "There is good evidence taking vitamin C for colds and flu can reduce the risk of developing further complications, such as pneumonia and lung infections," says Moyad.

Stroke
A recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that those with the highest concentrations of vitamin C in their blood were associated with 42% lower stroke risk than those with the lowest concentrations. The reasons for this are not completely clear. But what is clear is that people who eat plenty of fruits and vegetables have higher blood levels of vitamin C.
"People who consume more fruit and vegetables will not only have higher [blood] levels of vitamin C, but higher intake of other nutrients potentially beneficial to health, such as fiber and other vitamins and minerals," study researcher Phyo K. Myint said in an email interview.

Skin Aging
Vitamin C affects cells on the inside and outside of the body. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined links between nutrient intakes and skin aging in 4,025 women aged 40-74. It found that higher vitamin C intakes were associated with a lower likelihood of a wrinkled appearance, dryness of the skin, and a better skin-aging appearance.

Here is another list of benefits from another site.

Immunity
Not only is vitamin C a well-known component of your immune system, it is also necessary for collagen, the main structural protein found in connective tissue. A healthy dose of vitamin C will protect your body from infection and maintain healthy bones and teeth, as well as quicken the body's ability to repair wounds.

Common Cold
Along with its immune functions that fight against bacteria, viruses, and infection, vitamin C also serves as an affective antihistamine that will lessen the unpleasant effects of the common cold, including inflammation, stuffy nose and aches.

Antioxidant
Vitamin C is a powerful and effective antioxidant that protects our bodies from free radicals that cause oxidative stress. Excessive oxidative stress, or "cellular rust," can lead to a host of severe medical conditions, such as atherosclerosis that can cause both heart disease and stroke, and is associated with many different types of cancer, including lung, mouth, throat, colon, stomach and esophagus. Vitamin C also helps to regenerate your supplies of vitamin E (another useful antioxidant).

Hypertension
Vitamin C has been shown to lower blood pressure, and therefore lessen the probability of hypertension, as well as the serious health problems that follow, such as cardiovascular disease.

Blood Vessels
Along with lowering your blood pressure, vitamin C ensures proper dilation of blood vessels, which can prevents such diseases as atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, congestive heart failure, and angina pectoris (an inadequate supply of blood to the heart that causes severe chest pains).

Lead Toxicity
Vitamin C dramatically lowers your blood lead level. This is especially important for children living in urban areas, as studies have shown that lead toxicity can lead to behavioral and developmental problems, such as learning disabilities and lowered IQ. Adults, moreover, may suffer from kidney damage and high blood pressure.

Cataracts
The lens of the human eye requires vitamin C to function properly, and a deficiency can lead to cataracts (a condition in which the lens becomes increasingly opaque, causing blurry vision). A higher intake of vitamin C has been shown to fight cataracts by increasing the amount of blood flow to the eye.


There is more information that can found on Vitamin C but I feel you should know quite a bit about it after reading all that. There are some interesting facts about it I didn't know before researching it, such as body not storing it and excreting amounts that are too much. I can assume if you've read this whole post that you learn quite a bit about Vitamin C. Again, next week we will go into Vitamin C deficiency, sources of it, and other miscellaneous info.
As a bonus for this article here are a few images of Vitamin C in crystallized form under a microscope:







You see the stuff like this because Vitamin C is refractive and certain parts of it absorb various wavelengths of light, bouncing back the rest which makes it look so colorful.

As always if you have additional knowledge not currently listed in this article please post whatever you know in this thread along with questions and comments.

Click here to go to "Well Being" week 12

This is interesting. I quickly browsed through the article, and I'm glad I drink plenty of orange juice.

Quick question though. I didn't see anything in the article about this: Are there any negative effects of getting TOO MUCH Vitamin C?

As with any vitamin, mineral or nutrient, consuming too much of something is never good. Your body naturally gets rid of excess stuff that's too much for it to handle in a day, but saturating it enough will cause you to become sick. And yes, you can OD from to much of any of those three things in the same way you OD on something like Tylenol pills. Although, drinking a lot of orange juice won't get you there. It would have to be Vitamin C pill you get from a store. I'm sure if you ate half a bottle you'd be pretty close to passing out and never waking up.

Cool article as always. I take vitamin C and I get it in every day just because of what I eat and drink and what not. I am glad I do just because I am glad that I know all about all the good stuff that those vitamins can do.

Wow, I knew about the common things that Vitamin C did like help your immune system, but I didn't know it helped with stress-related problems among other things. I guess I should have even more Vitamin C.

Also, I didn't know that Vitamin C supplements were so necessary. I just thought that the amount you get in a glass of OJ was enough, but it turns out that's only a sixth of the amount you need.

I still enjoy reading these things =)

Another good read Cyro, even if I was late to it.

I actually get a lot of Vitamin C myself when I can.