10 Things You Should Know About Using Vitamin C

Vitamin C has long been a staple in the home as a defence against colds and flu, and to support the immune system. It’s one of the most versatile vitamins with a broad number of benefits, including some that you may not be aware of.

Here are 10 things you should know about Vitamin C:1. Supplement your Sex

Life High dose Vitamin C supplementation increases the frequency of sex in healthy men and women with a current partner.

2. Enhance your mood

Vitamin C has proven to have a mild anti-depressant effect in a placebo controlled trial. Decreases in depression scores were found in the Vitamin C group but not in the placebo group.

3. Prolong your life

The amount of vitamin C in one extra serving of fruit or vegetables is associated with a 20% drop in all cause mortality, according to a UK study of almost 20,000. The risk reduction was evident even after adjusting for age, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes and vitamin and mineral intake.

4. More Vitamin C – Less Gallstones

Research is suggesting that women with a family history of gallstones should increase their dietary intake of Vitamin C. The researchers said ascorbic acid influenced gallstone development by affecting the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids.Their research strengthened evidence that low levels may be an important risk factor.

5. Glowing Skin

Vitamin C plays an important role in maintaining healthy, glowing skin because of its role in collagen production and by providing protection as an antioxidant.

6. Managing Diabetes

A multi-centre international cohort study designed to investigate the relationship between diet, cancer and chronic diseases found a connection between Vitamin C and diabetes. They found a relationship between diabetes and low blood levels of Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps prevent damage caused by oxidative stress, which impairs insulin action.

7. Preventing Early Miscarriage

Researchers from Cambridge University and the University College Hospital in London found that women who miscarry often have high oxygen levels in the placenta. It is believed that if women consumed antioxidants, especially Vitamin C, the foetus could withstand the oxygen’s toxic effects.

8. Smokers Need Vitamin C

Research has shown that smokers have Vitamin C levels 34% lower than non-smokers. A University of California study found that after 3 months of supplementation, Vitamin C levels increased by 194% among smokers and 43% in non-smokers highlighting that smokers are particularly responsive to Vitamin C supplementation.

9. Vitamin C for Blood Vessels

Taking 500mg a day of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) actually reverses a condition that leads to heart attacks according to a study published in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association. In a study conducted by the Department of Medicine at Boston University, 46 men and women were divided into two groups and half were given Vitamin C for 30 days. The Vitamin C group saw significant improvements in the endothelium (the lining of blood vessels), while the placebo group did not!

10. Vitamin C for Strong Bones

A study has found that in women aged 67-79 years Vitamin C intake is inversely associated with loss of bone mineral density. Women whose dietary intake of Vitamin C was less than 57mg per day had an average yearly bone loss of 0.65% a year, compared to those with a daily intake of 99-363mg a day with an average yearly bone loss of only 0.30%.

References: Brody, S. High-dose ascorbic acid increases intercourse frequency and improves mood: a randomised controlled clinical trial. Biol Psychiatry. 2001;52:371-4

Medical Observer. 9 March 2001. By Anna Evangeli Australian Doctor. 28 April 2000. Dr Adam Taor Good Medicine. February 2001. Nicola Reavley author of Vitamins etc. Bookman Press.

Sargeant LA et al. Vitamin C and hyperglycemia in the European prospective Investigation into Cancer, Norfolk(EPIC-Norfolk) Study: a population-based study. Diabetes Care 2000; 23 (6): 726 – 32, Reuters/Sunday Telegraph, London

Lykkesfeldt, J et al. Ascorbate is depleted by smoking and repleted by moderate supplementation: a study in male smokers and non-smokers with matched dietary antioxidant intakes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000; 71: 530-6. Department of Medicine, Boston University; Circulation, July 1999.