9 Vitamin C Benefits For A Healthy Body

Also referred to as Ascorbic acid, Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that is much required by your body.

Since this vitamin is absorbed readily by the body’s tissues and is not well stored, you may consume it daily through your food or supplements.

Moreover, your body cannot produce this vitamin, and Vitamin C deficiency has been linked to many health issues.

Hence, if you can observe any signs of vitamin c deficiency, you may add vitamin c foods to your daily diet for daily consumption.

You can get vitamin C from myriad roots and vegetables like bell peppers, spinach, oranges, strawberries, kale, broccoli, Kiwi fruit, etc.

Though consuming Vitamin C from food may be advised, you may also resort to certain supplements to meet the required levels of this vitamin.

The recommended daily consumption of vitamin C is approximately 90 milligrams for men and 75 milligrams for women.

The deficiency of this vitamin could even lead to issues like anemia, loose teeth, bruising, scurvy, and bleeding.

Adhering to the daily consumption limits of this vitamin is crucial because it could bolster your overall health.

Now let’s have a glance at the different health benefits of this crucial vitamin.

1. Stroke

   According to a study^[1], amplified levels of vitamin C in the blood may lower your risk of stroke.

   This study showed how higher levels of Vitamin C helped in truncating the risk of strokes by 42% as compared with people who had lower concentrations of vitamin C in their blood.

   However, the reasons behind this vitamin C benefit have not yet been substantiated because research is quite limited in the field.

   It is only found that people who consume a plethora of fruits and vegetables that have vitamin C in them, might be at a lower risk to get strokes.

   But some researchers even say that this could be because fruits and vegetables are also a good source of other nutrients like vitamins and minerals that may amplify the health of the individuals.

2. Fighting Skin Aging

   Since vitamin C can even affect the cells on the inside and outside of your body, its antioxidant properties may even help you to fight skin aging.

   A study^[2] shows that people who consume vitamin C regularly were found to have a lower risk of wrinkled appearance, dryness of the skin, and a better skin-aging appearance.

   The major reason behind vitamin C helps in fighting skin aging could be because this vitamin stimulates collagen synthesis.

   Collagen is a crucial protein^[3] that is required in connective tissues like those found in our hair, skin, and nails.

   Other studies also show how this vitamin could help in truncating inflammation, lowering the risk of party vascular disease and cancer, and ameliorating macular degeneration.

3. Pollution

   As we all know, in this digitalized era, air pollution is at its amplified state.

   Moreover, this pollution could hurt the health of the people because of the involvement of different harmful chemicals in it.

   However, Vitamin C in combination with vitamin E might help to reduce the symptoms of the diseases caused by air pollution, as per this research^[4].

   These diseases can include the symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma.

4. Cancer Therapy

   Though this benefit of vitamin C is not substantiated, Vitamin C might still help in cancer therapy.

   Cancer could be caused when the cells in the human body get damaged due to high levels of oxidative stress.

   However, being an antioxidant, vitamin C could help to curtail the levels of oxidative stress in the body.

   Though more research is required, some therapists even use intravenous Vitamin C as an alternative method^[5] to treat infections and cancer.

   Moreover, according to a review^[6], you could use vitamin C along with other treatments to alleviate the symptoms of cancer.

5. Heal Wounds

   Vitamin C could even help to heal wounds because of its capability to allow collagen production in the body.

   So, people who have a lower consumption level of vitamin C may experience slower wound healing because their bodies could produce less collagen.

   Sometimes healthcare professionals may even recommend^[7] Vitamin C supplements for patients to improve their wound healing capabilities.

6. Reduces The Risk Of Heart Disease

   Different factors could lead to an augmented risk of cardiovascular disease, like high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, low levels of HDL, etc.

   The regular consumption of this vitamin could help to truncate the risk factors of these diseases and hence help to evade any risk of heart disease.

   This health benefit of vitamin C could be substantiated from an aggregate analysis of nine studies.

   According to the aggregate results of these studies, 93,172 participants consumed at least 700 milligrams of vitamin C regularly for 10 years.

   The results^[8] showed how these people had a 25% lesser risk of heart disease as compared to the people who did not consume any vitamin C supplement.

7. Diabetes

   Another great benefit of Vitamin C may be to help people suffering from diabetes. 

   According to this study^[9], consumption of vitamin C supplements regularly to see whether it made any difference to their glucose levels after eating or not.

   Approximately four months after the regular consumption of vitamin C supplements, the blood pressure and glucose levels in the participants ameliorated significantly.

8. Protect the eyes

   According to the American Optometric Association, the regular consumption of vitamin C might curtail your risk of developing any cataracts.

   At the same time, this vitamin might even evade any age-related macular degeneration in individuals.

   This could be because this vitamin has certain antioxidant properties which provide it with the ability to help people with age-related macular degeneration or AMD.

   During research^[10], the participants consumed 500 milligrams of vitamin C in the form of a supplement regularly.

   It was found that this regular consumption helped to truncate the progression of AMD disease among people.

9. Help Evade Allergies

   The immune system triggers an inflammatory response when an allergic reaction happens inside the human body.

   The allergic reaction might result in different symptoms like hives or swelling. Moreover, your body may produce ROS during an allergic reaction, which could lead to oxidative stress.

   People with respiratory issues were given regular doses of Vitamin C, and their symptoms were observed later.

   The results^[11] showed how consuming a high dose of vitamin C could help in truncating the symptoms of different allergies.

   This study also substantiated the fact that how low levels of vitamin C in the blood were common in people who had allergies.

Thus, these are the different benefits of vitamin C due to which you may consume this vitamin regularly and make it a part of your diet.

There are a plethora of sources of Vitamin C like food or supplements. The best food sources of vitamin C could be fresh vegetables and fruits.

You could also consume citrus fruits to enhance the vitamin c levels in your body.

However, you may focus on eating these foods raw because heating and cooking them in water may destroy some of the content of vitamin C.

Certain people may have an amplified risk of vitamin C deficiency.

These people might include anyone who does not consume a varied diet, has certain health conditions including intestinal malabsorption or smoking, or has exposure to second-hand smoke.

• About the Author
• Latest Posts

Alisha Matthew Nutritionist

Alisha Matthew has been a practicing nutritionist since 2016. She holds a master’s degree in nutrition from the University of IOWA. She is a staunch believer in improving the human health index by educating people about nutrition and the importance of nutrition in leading a healthy and happy life. Her long-term goal is to keep educating people on general health and keep herself updated with the latest trends in the field of health.

• Arjuna Herb: Benefits, Side Effects, And More
• How To Stop Binge Eating At Night?
• Tofu: Benefits, Risks, And More