While early warning signs of insufficient vitamin C often take the form of emotional and psychological symptoms, a chronic lack of vitamin C will start to manifest physically.
Why? As we’ve briefly noted, vitamin C helps form tissue.
- Vitamin C is essential in collagen formation.
- Collagen is a significant component of skin, muscles, cartilage, blood cell membranes, and other bodily tissues.
- Without sufficient vitamin C, our connective tissues lack collagen, making them weaker and less elastic.
Next, we’ll look at some specific signs to look out for.
Vitamin C and Skin Health
Collagen makes our skin look youthful and plump. As we age, we naturally lose collagen and skin elasticity. As a result, we can develop signs of aging that include:
- Sagging skin
- Sunken cheeks
- Fine lines from repeated facial expressions
While wrinkles and loss of skin volume are inevitable for most of us, a lack of vitamin C can speed up the signs of aging.
Beyond ensuring healthy collagen production, vitamin C plays other roles in preserving youthful-looking skin.
- Oxidative stress occurs when UV rays, smoke, environmental pollution, and other harmful substances come in contact with our skin. Over time, this can lead to signs of aging. Antioxidant vitamin C can serve a protective function, helping the skin cope with oxidative stress. This is why vitamin C serums are a popular skincare product.
- A severe lack of vitamin C can also result in bumpy, uneven skin texture, aka “goose flesh.”
To improve your skin’s appearance and texture, make sure you’re getting plenty of vitamin C or try a liposomal vitamin C serum if you prefer vitamin supplementation.
Issues With Bruising and Skin Healing
You probably know that sailors used to get scurvy—but what, exactly, is this old-timey disease?
As we’ve already covered, vitamin C is essential to healthy tissue formation. Without it, the following can occur:
- Bleeding gums
- The reopening of old wounds
- Slow wound healing
While the above symptoms may seem dramatic, a milder vitamin C deficiency could still result in unpleasant symptoms like easily bruised skin.
Discomfort
Beyond more visible symptoms, vitamin C deficiency could also lead to daily aches and irritations.
Elbows, knees, and other joints are padded with joint cartilage. As we age, thinning cartilage can lead to discomfort. If your body isn’t producing enough collagen to form healthy cartilage, your joints may feel stiff, swollen, or sore.
Other Physical Signs
Other obvious, external signs of a potential vitamin C deficiency include:
- Red, irritated hair follicles
- Curly body hair
- Curled, concave fingernails
- Thin and brittle hair and nails
