How much vitamin C do you really need?
A severe vitamin C deficiency can result in a condition known as scurvy. Without sufficient vitamin C, your body is unable to synthesize collagen, which is essential to forming and repairing bodily tissue including skin, muscles, cartilage, and connective tissue.
As a result, the following symptoms may arise:
- Fatigue and mood changes (sadness, irritability, nervousness)
- Easy bruising and slow wound healing
- Bleeding gums
- Tooth loss
- The reopening of old wounds
- Skin issues
If your condition is not reversed, the open wounds may become infected. This is a good reason to ensure you’re absorbing lots of vitamin C!
Besides avoiding scurvy, consuming plenty of vitamin C can have numerous potential benefits for your appearance and health.
Next, we’ll take a closer look at vitamin C benefits.
Skin-enhancing Vitamin C
Vitamin C is essential to skin health for several reasons:
- Role in collagen production – Our bodies need vitamin C to produce collagen, the elastic substance that makes skin plump and smooth. Collagen provides volume around the cheeks and prevents skin from forming wrinkles after repeated facial expressions. A lack of collagen is associated with sagging skin, signs of aging, and bumpy, uneven skin texture.
- Antioxidant properties – Your favorite skincare products may already include antioxidant ingredients like green tea or pomegranate. Likewise, vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can help diminish the effects of oxidative stress (stress caused by UV rays, smoke, and other environmental toxins).
- While there are topical products containing vitamin C, there’s no substitute for adequate internal vitamin C to build healthy skin from the inside out.
If your skin appears dull or dry, ingesting more vitamin C could potentially help and our selection of organic beauty supplements can be your one-stop solution. And if you already have perfect, youthful-looking skin, vitamin C’s antioxidant properties may help it stay that way longer.
Vitamin C and Immunity
While there’s currently no known cure for the common cold, there are many people who swear by vitamin C for colds and minor illnesses of all kinds.
In fact, one study found that taking 200 mg of daily vitamin C could cut your chance of catching a cold in half.
How can this humble acid help?
- Vitamin C’s antioxidant properties are also thought to help the body combat cellular damage caused by invading pathogens.
- Because vitamin C plays a large role in tissue repair, it’s vital to the healthy functioning of immune system organs including the skin, lymph nodes, and white blood cells.
- It’s clear that vitamin C deficiency is associated with compromised immunity, and some studies show that vitamin C supplements can help combat respiratory infections.
Thanks to these potential immune-boosting properties, intravenous vitamin C is sometimes administered in clinical settings in order to help patients mount an immune system response.
While you can’t exactly take intravenous vitamin C at home, liposomal vitamin C is the next best method for optimum absorption. Also, consider adding coated silver or other immune defense supplements into your diet to better protect you from airborne viruses and bacteria that you come into contact with on a daily basis.