Vitamin C

General Facts              ECO-friendly Process              Vitamin C              OMEGAS


Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin which is essential for normal functioning of the body. The body does not manufacture vitamin C on its own, nor does it store it. It is therefore important to include a continuous supply of vitamin C in your diet.

Vitamin C is required for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body. It is necessary to form collagen, an important protein used to make skin, scar tissue, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. Vitamin C is essential for the healing of wounds, and for the repair and maintenance of cartilage, bones, and teeth.

Vitamin C is one of many antioxidants. Antioxidants are nutrients that block some of the damage caused by free radicals, which are by-products that result when our bodies transform food into energy. The build up of these by-products over time is largely responsible for the aging process and can contribute to the development of various health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and a host of inflammatory conditions like arthritis. Antioxidants also help reduce the damage to the body caused by toxic chemicals and pollutants such as cigarette smoke.

Signs and symptoms of deficiency in Vitamin C can include dry and splitting hair, gingivitis (inflammation of the gums), bleeding gums, dry skin, easy bruising, nosebleeds, swollen and painful joints, anemia, weight gain because of slowed metabolism, and a decreased ability to fight infection.

Healing Power

As an important factor in collagen production, vitamin C is useful in wound healing of all types. From cuts and broken bones to burns and recovery from surgical wounds, vitamin C taken orally helps wounds to heal faster and better.

Vitamin C makes the headlines when it comes to cancer prevention. Its antioxidant properties protect cells and their DNA from damage and mutation. It supports the body's immune system, the first line of defense against cancer, and prevents certain cancer-causing compounds from forming in the body. Vitamin C reduces the risk of getting almost all types of cancer. It appears that this nutrient doesn't directly attack cancer that has already occurred, but it helps keep the immune system nourished, enabling it to battle the cancer.

As an antioxidant, vitamin C helps to prevent cataracts -- the clouding of the lens of the eye that can lead to blindness in older adults. The lens needs a lot of vitamin C to counteract all the free radicals that form as a result of sunlight on the eye. Vitamin C is concentrated in the lens. When there is plenty of this vitamin floating throughout your bloodstream, it's easy for the body to pull it out of your and put it into the lens protecting it from damage. It's possible that 1,000 mg per day of vitamin C might stop cataracts in their tracks and improve vision.

As with the other antioxidants, vitamin C helps to prevent heart disease by preventing free radicals from damaging artery walls, which could lead to plaque formation. This nutrient also keeps cholesterol in the bloodstream from oxidizing, another early step in the progression towards heart disease and stroke. Vitamin C may help people who have marginal vitamin C status to obtain favorable blood cholesterol levels. High blood pressure may also improve with an increased presence of this vitamin. All of these factors combined make vitamin C an inexpensive and easy way to lower one's risk of heart disease and strokes.

People who have asthma tend to have higher needs for vitamin C because of its antioxidant function in the lungs and airways. Doses of 1,000 to 2,000 mg per day improve asthmatic symptoms and lessen the body's production of histamine, which contributes to inflammation.

People with diabetes can benefit from extra vitamin C, as well. This nutrient can help regulate blood sugar levels. Since insulin helps vitamin C, as well as glucose, get into cells, people with diabetes may not have enough vitamin C inside many of their cells. Just like glucose, vitamin C can't do its work if it's not inside of a cell. Supplementing vitamin C can force it into the body’s cells, where it can protect against the many complications of diabetes.

These are just some of the conditions in which vitamin C has provided significant results. There are many other health conditions in which vitamin C plays a role; for instance, treating preeclampsia in pregnant women, increasing sperm counts especially in smokers, and treating Parkinson's disease, autoimmune disorders, and periodontal disease.