Vitamin C is an antioxidant that is required for at least three hundred metabolic functions in the body, including tissue growth and repair, adrenal gland function, and healthy gums. It also aids in the production of anti-stress hormones and interferon, an important immune system protein, and is needed for the metabolism of folic acid, tyrosine, and phenylalanine. Studies have shown that taking vitamin C can reduce symptoms of asthma. It protects against the harmful effects of pollution, helps to prevent cancer, protects against infection and enhances immunity.
Vitamin C increases the absorption of iron. It can combine with toxic substances, such as certain heavy metals, and render them harmless so that they can be eliminated from the body. This vitamin also may reduce levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL, the so-called "bad cholesterol"), while increasing levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL, or "good cholesterol"), as well as lowering high blood pressure and helping to prevent atherosclerosis. Essential in the formation of collagen, vitamin C protects against abnormal blood clotting and bruising, may reduce the risk of cataracts and promotes the healing of wounds and burns. It may even boost your love life by causing more of the hormone oxytocin to be released.
Vitamin C works synergistically with both vitamin E and beta-carotene - that is, when these vitamins work together, they have an effect even greater than the sum of their individual effects, and taking them together may couther potential adverse effects of taking these vitamins alone. Long term users of vitamins E and C in combination seem to have higher cognitive abilities as they age, as reported by a 2003 study. Vitamin E scavenges for dangerous free radicals in cell membranes, while vitamin C attacks free radicals in biologic fluids. These vitamins reinforce and extend each other’s antioxidant activity.
Because the body cannot manufacture vitamin C, it must be obtained through the diet or in the form of supplements. It was once thought that most of the vitamin C consumed in the diet was lost in the urine, although this idea is being challenged because initial studies apparently failed to account for the half-life, or consistent decreasing rate of elimination from the blood, of the vitamin in the original calculations.
If you require larger than normal amounts of vitamin C due to serious illness, such as cancer, it is more effective to take it intravenously, under the supervision of a physician, than it is to take high doses orally.
Scurvy is a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. It is characterized by poor wound healing, soft and spongy bleeding gums, edema, extreme weakness, and "pinpoint" hemorrhages under the skin. Fortunately, this condition is rare in western societies. More common are signs of lesser degrees of deficiency, including gums that bleed when brushed; increased susceptibility to infection, especially colds and bronchial infections; joint pains; lack of energy; poor digestion; prolonged wound healing time; a tendency to bruise easily and tooth loss.
If aspirin and standard vitamin C (ascorbic acid) are taken together in large doses, stomach irritation can occur, possibly leading to ulcers. If you take aspirin regularly, use an esterified form of vitamin C, and take it separately from the aspirin.
If you are pregnant, do not take more than 5000mg of vitamin C daily. A developing infant may become dependent on this supplement and develop scurvy when deprived of the accustomed mega doses after birth.
If you have a bruise or sprained muscle, temporarily cut back on Vitamin C to less than 90mg daily. Larger amounts may combine with iron produced by the injuries to cause more damage.
