Vitamin C: what it is for, how to use it, rich foods and deficiency

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a nutrient your body needs to form blood vessels, cartilage, muscle, and collagen in bones.

Vitamin C is also vital to the body’s healing process.

Vitamin C is an essential vitamin, which means your body cannot produce it.

However, it has many roles and has been linked to impressive health benefits.

Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients, experts say.

While it may not be a cure for the common cold, vitamin C benefits can include protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health issues, eye conditions, and even skin wrinkles.

The maximum tolerable intake level (or the maximum amount you can ingest per day that is unlikely to cause harm) is 2,000 mg per day for adults.

In today’s article we will detail everything about vitamin C: what it is, what it is for, how to use it, rich foods, deficiency and excess.

Which is ?

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps protect your cells from the effects of free radicals – molecules produced when your body breaks down food or is exposed to tobacco smoke and radiation from the sun, X-rays or other sources.

Free radicals can play an important role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

Vitamin C also helps your body absorb and store iron.

Since your body doesn’t produce vitamin C, you need to get it through your diet.

Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits and vegetables like:   oranges ,  strawberries ,  kiwis , broccoli , kale and  spinach .

Remembering that the recommended daily intake of this vitamin is 75 mg for women and 90 mg for men.

Vitamin C is also available as an oral supplement, typically in the form of capsules and chewable tablets.

What is it for? 

Vitamin C is necessary for the biosynthesis of collagen, L-carnitine and certain neurotransmitters.

Vitamin C is also involved in protein metabolism.

Collagen is an essential component of connective tissue, which plays a vital role in wound healing.

Vitamin C is also an important physiological antioxidant and has been shown to regenerate other antioxidants within the body, including alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E).

Ongoing studies are examining whether vitamin C, by limiting the harmful effects of free radicals through its antioxidant activity, can help prevent or delay the development of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, and other diseases in which oxidative stress plays a role. a causal role.

In addition to its biosynthetic and antioxidant functions, vitamin C plays an important role in immune function and improves the absorption of non-heme iron, the form of iron present in plant foods.

Insufficient intake of vitamin C causes scurvy, which is characterized by fatigue or tiredness, generalized connective tissue weakness, and capillary fragility.

Is Effervescent Vitamin C Good? 

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), a potent antioxidant, is not synthesized by the human body and is obtained from food and pharmaceutical formulations.

As a pharmaceutical product, it is available in solution, powder, granules and tablets.

Effervescent tablets are the most consumed, either alone or in combination with other substances.

It is commercially available from several suppliers, which makes its evaluation essential to guarantee the quality, efficacy and patient safety in relation to over-the-counter drugs.

Quality control is essential in the final product, as many products do not have the desired quality, compromising their validity and performance.

The present study aimed to evaluate vitamin C effervescent tablets from three different brands.

Quality tests were performed according to the parameters recommended by the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia.

The content was determined by the titrimetric and spectrophotometric method, as there is no official methodology for effervescent vitamin C tablets.

All brands passed the quality tests used, guaranteeing and demonstrating the company’s commitment to the population that consumes them.

Vitamin C benefits

The body uses  Vitamin C  in many different ways. Vitamin  C  is needed by the body to form  collagen .

The body also uses the vitamin to make skin, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels.

It also uses this vitamin to repair and maintain cartilage,  bones  and teeth, to heal wounds and form scar tissue.

This vitamin can also prevent  cancer by blocking free radical damage.

This vitamin is a vital antioxidant that helps protect cells from damage caused by the free radicals we are exposed to in the environment, such as air pollution, cigarette smoke, and ultraviolet light from the sun.

1. It has antioxidant:

Vitamin C ensures that free radicals are bound in the body and rendered harmless.

2. Protect your vases:

It normalizes blood flow and has a preventive effect on all diseases associated with atherosclerosis.

This includes, for example, high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes and heart attacks.

In addition, ascorbic acid ensures smooth inner walls of the arteries, so that cholesterol and other substances cannot be deposited on the arterial walls.

3. Vitamin C and Cancer Therapy

Vitamin C helps treat cancer, as an antioxidant, it protects the body from oxidative stress, which can occur when ROS levels are high.

Oxidative stress can lead to cell damage and may play a role in some cancers.

A 2015 mouse study found that ingesting high doses of vitamin C can slow the growth of some types of cancerous tissue.

The article suggests that vitamin C could one day become a new treatment for colorectal cancer.

Additionally, the authors of a 2013 review suggest that vitamin C may work well alongside other treatments to benefit people with cancer.

The National Cancer Institute notes that some alternative therapists already use intravenous vitamin C to treat cancer, fatigue, and infections.

However, they note that more research is needed.

Intravenous vitamin C does not currently have Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to treat cancer.

4. Strengthen connective tissue:

The body depends on vitamin C for the synthesis of collagen, which is found in connective tissue around the body. In addition, adequate levels of vitamin C are essential for collagen production.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and plays a critical role in connective tissues such as those found in our organs and, of course, our hair, skin and nails.

A study published in September 2015 in Clinical, Cosmetic, and Investigational Dermatology ^[1] found that topical application of vitamin C to the skin led to increased collagen production and younger-looking skin.

Increased collagen synthesis also means that vitamin C helps to heal wounds.

5. Improves calcium and iron absorption:

Calcium and iron can be better absorbed through a regulated balance.

It also ensures that iron stored in the spleen and intestinal walls is transported back into the bloodstream.

From here, iron can be used to transport oxygen and strengthen the immune system.

6. Regulation of hormone release:

Allows the release of sex hormones, thyroid hormones, stress hormones and growth hormones.

7. Helps in Detoxification:

Vitamin C supports the liver in breaking down toxins like cyanides, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, nitrosamines and nicotine.

How does vitamin C help your body?

Also, or ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble nutrient that is found in some foods.

It acts in the body as an antioxidant, which helps protect cells from free radical damage.

The body also needs the vitamin  to produce collagen, a protein needed to help heal wounds as well as boost immunity.

Are foods rich in vitamin C?

Foods rich in vitamin C are fresh fruits and vegetables. However, heat and cooking in water can destroy some of the vitamin C content of these foods, so it is best to eat raw foods.

Some good sources of vitamin C include:

• Red pepper,
• Orange juice,
• Orange,
• grapefruit juice,
• Kiwi,
• green pepper, sweet,
• Broccoli, cooked,
• Strawberries, fresh,
• Brussels Sprouts ,
• Grapefruit,
• raw broccoli,
• Tomato juice,
• Melon,
• boiled cabbage,
• raw cauliflower,
• Tomato,
• boiled spinach,
• Green peas.

Recommended Intake

Vitamin C and other nutrient intake recommendations are provided in the Dietary Reference Intakes ( DRIs ) or “ Dietary Reference Intakes ” developed by the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) ^[2] at the Institute of Medicine ^[3] (IOM).

DRI is the general term for a set of reference values ​​used to plan and assess nutrient intake by healthy people.

These values, which vary by age and sex ^[4] , include:

• Recommended Diet (RDA) : The average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient needs of nearly all (97%-98%) healthy individuals; often used to plan nutritionally adequate diets for individuals.
• Adequate Intake (AI) : Intake at this level is assumed to ensure nutritional adequacy; established when evidence is insufficient to develop an RDA.
• Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) : Average daily intake level estimated to meet the needs of 50% of healthy individuals; generally used to assess nutrient intake by groups of people and to plan nutritionally adequate diets for them; it can also be used to assess nutrient intake by individuals.
• Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL): Maximum daily intake is unlikely to cause adverse health effects.

The following table is the recommended intake of vitamin C.

The RDAs for vitamin C are based on its known physiological and antioxidant functions in white blood cells and are much higher than the amount needed to protect against deficiency. For babies from birth to 12 months, the FNB has established a recommended intake of vitamin C:

What is the cause of the disability ?

For a balanced and healthy diet you can add your cover needs easily. Vitamin deficiency  is quite rare in Germany and the rest of the industrialized countries due to the good supply of fruits and vegetables for the skin .

However, several factors can influence intake and result in a deficiency. These include, for example, smoking, various medications or an unbalanced diet.

Vitamin C deficiency:

Deficiency symptoms include fatigue, muscle weakness, joint and muscle pain, bleeding gums, and skin rashes on the legs. Prolonged deficiency can cause  scurvy , a rare but potentially serious disease.

Acute  Vitamin C deficiency  leads to  scurvy . The timeline for the development of  scurvy  varies depending on the body’s stores of  Vitamin C , but signs can appear within a month with little or no intake of the vitamin (below 10 mg/day).

Initial symptoms can include fatigue (likely the result of impaired carnitine biosynthesis), malaise, and gum inflammation.

As  Vitamin C deficiency  progresses,  collagen synthesis  becomes impaired and connective tissues weaken, causing petechiae, ecchymosis, purpura, joint pain, poor wound healing, hyperkeratosis, and corkscrew hair.

Additional signs of  scurvy  include depression, as well as swelling, bleeding gums, and loss or loss of teeth due to fragility of tissues and capillaries.

Iron   deficiency  anemia  can also occur due to increased bleeding and decreased absorption of  non- heme iron secondary  to low  Vitamin C intake .

In children, bone disease may be present. Left untreated,  scurvy  is fatal.

By the end of the 18th century, many sailors who had ventured on long ocean voyages, with little or no vitamin intake, contracted or died of  scurvy .

In the mid-1700s, Sir James Lind, a surgeon in the British Navy, conducted experiments and determined that ingesting citrus fruits or juices could cure  scurvy , although scientists did not prove that ascorbic acid was the active component until 1932.

Too much vitamin C

Vitamin  C  has low toxicity and is not believed to cause serious adverse effects at high intakes. The most common complaints are  diarrhea , nausea, abdominal cramps and other gastrointestinal disorders, due to the osmotic effect of   unabsorbed Vitamin C in the gastrointestinal tract.

In postmenopausal women with  diabetes , consumption of  supplemental (but not dietary) Vitamin C  (at least 300 mg/day) was significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease.

The mechanism for this effect, if real, is unclear and this finding is from a subgroup of patients in an epidemiological study. No association was observed in any other epidemiological study, so the significance of this finding is uncertain. In addition, high consumption of this vitamin also has the potential to increase urinary excretion of oxalate and uric acid. Which could contribute to the formation of  kidney stones , especially in individuals with kidney disorders.

However, studies evaluating the effects on urinary oxalate excretion of  Vitamin C intakes  ranging from 30 mg to 10 g/day have had conflicting results, so it is unclear whether  Vitamin C  actually plays a role in the development of kidney stones. The best evidence that this vitamin contributes to kidney stone formation is in patients with pre-existing hyperoxaluria.

Due to the increased absorption of   non-heme  iron by Vitamin C , a theoretical concern is that high intakes can cause excessive  iron absorption . In healthy individuals, this does not seem to be a concern. However, in individuals with hereditary hemochromatosis, chronic consumption of high doses of  Vitamin C  can exacerbate  iron overload  and result in tissue damage.