One of the effective ways to boost our immune system is by including Vitamin C or ascorbic acid in our diet because, unfortunately, the body cannot make or produce its own vitamin C. 

To get your daily dose, you must eat vitamin C-rich foods or take it like other dietary supplements. You can easily acquire vitamin C supplements from grocery and convenience stores or as an over-the-counter product in all pharmacies. 

Aside from being beneficial to our immune health, Vitamin C is known to combat ageing and is also considered as one of the best detox supplements. According to experts, this water-soluble nutrient can help you protect your cells from damage and boost your overall health.

Impact Of Lifestyle Choices On Your Health

Unfortunately, in our fast-paced environment, we tend to unconsciously overlook our diet and make poor health choices, which affects our bodies on a cellular level. Our biological age, which refers to how old our body seems, not our age in years, suffers when we have unhealthy lifestyle choices like poor eating and sleeping habits and a lack of physical activities. The good thing is medical advancements such as a body age test can help measure our biological age and see the extent of damage in our body cells and tissues caused by many lifestyle factors. 

A proper diet is a vital part of our holistic wellness. Since we were young, we have been taught that it is vital to choose healthy food options and eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, so our body gets the vitamins and nutrients it needs to remain strong. Now that we are grown, it makes more sense to eat healthy so we can avoid certain diseases. It is now easier to understand that eating the right kinds of food means an enhanced immune system. This way, we have a strong defence from infectious diseases caused by bacteria and viruses and can avoid certain immune system deficiencies for holistic wellness. 

How Vitamin C Helps Prevent Premature Ageing?

Ageing and vitamins are not unfamiliar associations. Similar to other nutrients, vitamin C has displayed its potential to prevent premature ageing, according to some scientific evidence. A study about the connection between vitamin C and telomeres suggests that it can help slow down the shortening of telomeres, which are the sections of our DNA that cap and protect the end of a chromosome. 

The length of telomeres is a great indication of the biological age of a cell and an organism. And due to vitamin C’s antioxidant properties, it can prevent oxidative damage to our DNA, thereby slowing down the ageing process of our body.

In addition to its effects on telomere lengths, vitamin C has also earned a spotlight in the skincare industry. Also, due to its antioxidant properties, it helps slow ageing by restoring collagen production and the reduction of photodamage. 

Furthermore, a 2007 study published by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition about the relationship between dietary nutrient intakes and the appearance of signs of skin ageing suggests that high vitamin intake slows down the appearance of wrinkles. Hence, it is safe to say that incorporating vitamin C in your skincare routine and topically applying it can reduce the early signs of ageing.

Other Benefits Of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is one of the safest vitamins you can take. Aside from helping you boost the immune system, other benefits include the following:

It Helps Protect The Skin Against Sun Damage

Aside from its anti-ageing properties, vitamin C also helps lighten your dark spots, reduces the appearance of wrinkles, boosts collagen production, and reduces the visibility of scars.

It Promotes Faster Wound Healing

The ability of vitamin C to aid wound healing lies primarily in its ability to aid collagen production, which is one of the essential parts of connective tissue. And because vitamin C is an essential cofactor of iron in collagen production, it plays a significant role in tissue repair and regeneration.

It Reduces The Risks Of Cardiovascular Diseases

Vitamin C is beneficial to the cardiovascular system. It helps prevent the death of the vascular smooth muscle cells or the smooth muscle lining the wall of blood vessels keeping the atherosclerotic plaque builds up stable. In addition, vitamin C also helps with vasodilation which reduces blood pressure.

It Prevents The Development Of Lung Infections

Vitamins C is commonly prescribed to those who have colds or flu not as a cure but as a supplement to help them recover fast by strengthening the immune system and by preventing the development of complications like pneumonia.

It Helps Fight Against Stress & Anxiety

Stress is a product of many undesirable events in our daily life. And when our body undergoes stress, it uses the vitamin C in our body to reduce the levels of stress hormones known as cortisol in our blood. Therefore, resulting in a better mood.

It Reduces Inflammation

Because Vitamin C plays a significant role in our immune health, it also affects our body’s response to inflammation. Its antioxidant properties can reduce oxidative stress on a cellular level which is caused by free radicals.

It Aids Iron Absorption

People taking iron supplements also benefit from taking vitamin C. It helps store iron in a form that can be easily absorbed, which increases iron absorption in the intestines and also protects it from oxidation.

It Improves The Quality Of Life Of Cancer Patients

According to a 1976 study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal, because vitamin C can help resist malignant conditions like cancer, the administration of it in high doses suggests an improvement in the quality of life and mean survival time of cancer patients.

Does Vitamin C Deficiency Occur?

Vitamin C is a common and easy-to-acquire supplement, so getting enough amounts of it every day should not be a problem. Experts recommend taking a daily amount of 75 milligrams for women, but 120 milligrams is advised if pregnant. As for men, the daily recommended vitamin C dose is 90 milligrams. Note that the upper limit for all adults is not more than 2,000 milligrams a day.  

Although rare, vitamin deficiency happens. Scurvy is primarily caused by insufficient vitamin C in the body for prolonged periods. While this valuable vitamin is very accessible, some people are still vitamin C deficient and suffer from this disease. The signs and symptoms include:

  • Anaemia
  • Weakness
  • Exhaustion
  • Spontaneous bleeding
  • Pain in the legs
  • Swelling of some body parts
  • Ulceration of the gums
  • Tooth loss

Take Away

Vitamins and minerals are an essential part of our diet as it helps our body do its functions. We must ensure that we always consume foods that are rich in these nutrients not only to keep our body strong but also to boost our immune system. This will help us fight infections, keeping us from developing more health problems.

Vitamin C is as important as other vitamins required by our body. But even if this is the case, note that anything in excess can result in adverse effects. Hence, it is best to stay within the recommended daily dose and consumption of large amounts should be avoided. Remember to take care of our body not just to look young and prevent premature ageing but also for our overall health.

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