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Health Benefits Of Vitamin C

By: Evelyn Lim

Vitamin C is essential in order for your body to function more efficiently. It is also known as ascorbic acid. Many people take Vitamin C, knowing that it is good for their body but do not fully know why.

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. This essentially means that if the vitamin is not used by your body, it gets eliminated through urination. Another water soluble vitamin is Vitamin B. Usually, both vitamins are stored in the liver. In that way, your body can derive benefits from the stored nutrient.

Humans were once able to create their own Vitamin C naturally, but this function was lost over the generations. Some animals still have this functional ability, but primates and guinea pigs have lost this ability, which is why guinea pigs are commonly used in research studies including Vitamin C.

Vitamin C helps in collagen creation. Collagen is found in different parts of your body, particularly connective tissues, smooth muscle cells, skeletal cells, and cartilage. Vitamin C helps in the process of hydroxylation to amino acids, and thereby adding hydrogen and oxygen to produce pro collagen. This function is performed when your body requires it. Vitamin C also helps to prevent Vitamins E and A from oxidizing as well.

A deficiency in Vitamin C can cause you to develop scurvy. Scurvy is not a very common condition except in alcoholics. The main reason why it inflicts alcoholics especially is because alcoholics tend not to consume much of anything else other than their drinks. Scurvy comes with symptoms like bleeding gums, easy bruising, slow healing of wounds, joint pain, and the reduction of muscle tone.

It is important that you have a regular diet that gives you adequate Vitamin C. For this, you need to consume citrus fruits, such as limes, grapefruits, oranges, and limes. Other food sources of Vitamin C can be found in potatoes, tomatoes, and green peppers.

Health experts recommend a daily allowance of somewhere in the range of 60 to 90mg of Vitamin C. On the average, Americans consume about 72mg daily of Vitamin C.

Luckily, scurvy can be prevented with just 5 to 7mg of Vitamin C and you can take as much as 2000mg daily without any ill side effects. Any Vitamin C over this dosage will not cause permanent problems other than diarrhea.

A myth about Vitamin C is that the more Vitamin C that you take, the longer that you will live. However, this myth is disputed by a study by the Mayo Clinic which showed that the reverse is true. Still, it is important that you get the recommended daily allowance. And it is best from natural food sources. If you find that you do not consume enough Vitamin C, then there are always supplements that you can turn to.

Article Source: Main Articles

Evelyn Lim writes on natural home remedies at her blog. For more tips and practical ideas, please visit her site at www.natural-remedy-secrets.com.
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