The Importance of Vitamin C to The Body

The Importance of Vitamin C to The Body
Photo credit:tipdisease.com

Vitamin
C also referred to as ascorbic acid, has a lot of benefits and performs
numerous functions to keep the body in good health condition.

Unlike
some animals that are able to produce their own vitamin C, humans are not able
to and have to get it through their diet. This means what we eat is very
important in getting vitamin C as it is essential for the body.

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                                               FUNCTIONS
OF VITAMIN C
Vitamin C performs a lot of functions which are very
important to the body, they include the following
·        
Vitamin
C helps in building up the immune system of the body and helps protect people
against infections such as common colds.
·        
Vitamin
C helps in reducing allergic reactions as it prevents the body from being
exposed to processes that can cause allergies. Vitamin C helps to slow down a
compound known as histamine that is released during allergic reactions.
·        
Vitamin
C works as an antioxidant with Vitamin E to reduce the damage caused by
dangerous free radicals. Free radicals left unchecked can cause a lot of
problems by developing harmful diseases for the body like cancer, heart
problems, arthritis and can also contribute to the aging process of the body.
·        
Vitamin
C is also great when it comes to healing of wounds. Vitamin C when combined
with Zinc helps speed up the process of healing which is essential to prevent
wounds becoming worse by easily getting infected.
·        
Vitamin
C is important for maintaining healthy connective tissue which provides support
and structure for other tissues as well as organs in the body.
·        
Vitamin
C is important to form collagen which is important for the structure of the cartilage,
skin, tendons, blood vessels, vascular tissues, muscles and ligaments.
·        
Vitamin
C helps in protecting the teeth and gums. It helps to repair and maintain the teeth
and gums as well as prevents bleeding from the gums and teeth.
·        
Vitamin
C also helps in improving the eye sight of people. Helps the eyes deal with
stress and reduce the chances of vision loss.
                                       GOOD FOOD SOURCES OF VITAMIN C
As stated earlier, humans do not make Vitamin C within their
bodies and are therefore dependent on getting the important Vitamin from
various sources of food through a well-balanced diet.
Since Vitamin C cannot be stored in the body, people need to
get it in their food they eat every day, which makes it more important for
people to have a good diet. So it is important you check what you eat to ensure
you are getting the right of vitamins your body needs.
You should be able to get all the Vitamin C your body needs
daily as there are a wide range of fruits and vegetables that are good sources
of Vitamin C, they include:
POTATOES
GREEN PEPPER
RED PEPPER
STRAWBERRIES
ORANGE
ORANGE JUICE
BROCCOLI
                          HOW MUCH VITAMIN C IS NEEDED BY AN INDIVIDUAL DAILY
As with most things in life, too much of everything is
generally not good and the same applies to the intake or using Vitamin C.
Vitamin C though very important for the body, should not be
taken indiscriminately as too much Vitamin C can cause some problems for you.
Adults need forty milligrams of Vitamin C every day. Normally
you should get the amount of Vitamin C you need by eating well.
Taking a lot of Vitamin C (about a thousand milligrams daily)
can be harmful and can cause stomach pain and diarrhea. These problems can be
taken care off by stopping the use of Vitamin C.
So while it is essential and important, too much Vitamin C
can be harmful to the body. Vitamin C should not be abused but taken adequately
to avoid any other health related problems to your body.
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