Vitamin C

Vitamin C is excessively studied and became very famous through the Nobel price winning scientist Linus Pauling who himself too 25 grams of Vitamin C every day until he died at th age of 96. He was at this time still professionally active and mentally very clear.

There is already very much written about Vitamin C but there are still people who are believing that it is not important - even being the most popular Vitamin - or they use it only when they get a cold or want to avoid it (if anyhow).

Unfortunately our human bodies are unable to produce our own Vitamin C like most animals can do and our bodies cannot store it either. Therefore we are dependent on getting it from our food or from Vitamin C supplements.

Vitamin C has a lot of functions in our body.
Because these functions are not well known among most people, I will talk about them here to make you easily understand  WHY  Vitamin C is so important.

One of thew main functions of Vitamin C is that it is needed to support the body to produce the protein collagen. Collagen is needed for creating skin, blood vessesl, cartilage, tendons and ligaments. Collagen is also needed to grow tissues, especially cartilage and to strengthen and repair all of it. Without Vitamin C wounds wouldn't heal.

But bones and teeth are equally dependent on the presence of enough Vitamin C.

It protects the arteries against damage and keeps them flexible and strong.

Vitamin C is as well active in our immune system, it is found in high concentrations in our immune cells.

Another function is that Vitamin C is needed as an antioxidant to minimize the damage of free radicals, which would lead the body into early aging or chronic illnesses.

Vitamin C also helps protect cell membranes from t0xic wastes and destruction and is especially effective when taken with Vitamin E.

Vitamin C is also a natural antihistamine. It prevents the release of histamines, which is very important in cases of allergies and increases the detoxification of histamines.

But the sufficient presence of Vitamin C has also the function to maintain health and to prevent certain conditions like immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular diseases, gum diseases, prenatal health problems, eye diseases, asthma, high blood pressure, cancer, arthritis, osteoarthritis and even skin wrinkling  ...   and much, much more.

There are certain signs of deficiency of Vitamin C

To get easily bruised and the bruises take very long to disappear,
even small wounds take long to heal,
the body seems to be weak to ward off infections,
dry skin and dry and splitting hair,
inflammation or bleeding of the gums,
often nose bleeding.
A severe form of deficiency would be scurvy, which is not very common but is still present today.

Smoking cigarettes lowers the amount of Vitamin C in the body. Therefore smokers and people who are using nicotine patches are at a higher risk of Vitamin C deficiency.

There are also precautions to take


High doses of Vitamin C supplements can have a diuretic effect or produce gas or an upset stomach, in this case it is advisable just to lower the dose and to augment it slowly.

Lots of commercial Vitamin C is unfortunately made from corn. When you are sensitive to corn, you should look for alternatives.

Vitamin C increases the amount of iron absorbed from foods. People who have the condition where too much iron is building up in their bodies, should not take Vitamin C.

People with kidney stones should talk to their doctor before taking Vitamin C.

Vitamin C may raise or decrease blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, therefore it is advisable to control the blood sugar levels.

Vitamin C may potentially interact with some  chemical  medications or chemotherapy drugs, sometimes for the better, sometimes it is not advisable.

Taking a supplement or getting it through food?

First of all not everybody eats organic fruits and vegetables  - and other fruits and vegetables are often heavily sprayed with insecticides, pestizides, the soil is fertilized with nasty chemicals. For these people I would always recommend a supplement, which is cleaner.

People who eat solely organic fruits and vegetables should consider that even the organic soils are often depleted and the results are less vitamins and mineral contents.
Maybe they are better off but still I would recommend to supplement Vitamin C.

But all in all   ....  when I would have the choice to have only one Vitamin, I would take Vitamin C. At the moment I take 4 - 6 gram/day.  Getting Vitamin C intravenous from time to time is for me the best "remedy" to get more energy and it relaxes me totally from stress, which is still in my life.