Vitamin C: Why You Need It and How It is Helpful in Boosting Immunity?

Vitamin C is one of the effective and safest nutrients, according to experts. It is also known as ascorbic acid. It is a water-soluble Vitamin and well known for its role in supporting a healthy immune system. You can boost your immune system or improve your overall health with a daily dose of Vitamin C.

The nutrient is essential as it helps you to stay healthy. It is a go-to for many people who think they are falling sick. There is no doubt why people have sworn by it for a longer duration whether in food or supplements and all for good reasons.

Apart from healing your body and providing antioxidants to your body, Vitamin C does many other things. For example, it works by helping your body to heal and fight off infections. It also helps to keep you from getting sick and supports you when you are sick.

Here in this blog, we will discuss more about it.

Importance of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that is helpful to protect your body from any harmful substance like free radicals that happens due to oxidative stress. These are the molecules that can damage cells. It is essential to get Vitamin C through food or supplements as the human body cannot make it.

Apart from the antioxidant, healing, and protective effects, Vitamin C also helps aid cancer patients. The nutrient helps to improve the quality of their life and exhibit fewer side effects from treatment. Vitamin C is known to protect you from cardiovascular health. One study shows that people who took at least 700mg of Vitamin C per day had lower risk factors for heart disease.

Foods nourished with Vitamin C

Here are some fruits and vegetables with Vitamin C content:

• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Baked potatoes
• Cantaloupe
• Strawberries
• Green and red peppers
• Citrus fruits
• Some other beverages and foods fortified with Vitamin C

Intake of Vitamin C

When you speak of Vitamin C, many people think it is much better. The daily amount recommended is about 65-90mg per day. Many supplements available in the market provide more than 90mg. Foods with Vitamin C and supplementing helps you meet the requirement of 90mg.

Vitamin C for boosting immunity

Vitamin C plays an essential role in healthy immunity. It helps the immune system of your body in different ways. It supports the production of white blood or immune cells that you need to fight infections. An antioxidant is the primary function of Vitamin C as it helps to protect you from oxidative stress. It is linked to chronic health conditions and illnesses like Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and diabetes.

Role of Vitamin C in the body

Vitamin C is a nutrient essential for the development, growth, and repair of all body tissues. It involves many body functions that also include the formation of collagen, absorption of iron, proper functioning of the immune system, wound healing, and maintenance of teeth, bones, and cartilage.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is no storage of Vitamin C in the body. It is still essential that you do not exceed the safe upper limit of 2,000mg a day to avoid diarrhea and stomach upset.

If Vitamin C enriched food is not quickly available to you, try to take it in pill form. Deficiency of Vitamin C is relatively rare and primarily seen in malnourished adults. In few cases, it also leads to scurvy characterized by losing teeth, bleeding, bruising, anemia and weakness.

Vitamin C for COVID-19

Research doesn’t signify the use of Vitamin C for treating critically ill patients diagnosed with coronavirus. The ongoing studies say that they lack enough evidence that recommends the usage of Vitamin C for patients with COVID-19.

Get a more Vitamin C enriched diet

It is an antioxidant super-nutrient found in a variety of vegetables and fruits. As per US Dietary Guidelines and dietary intake data, many adults do not get enough Vitamin C in their diets.

The foods rich in Vitamin C are sweet potatoes, white potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, strawberries, green peppers, and citrus fruits. Other good sources include pineapples, winter squash, blueberries, raspberries, red peppers, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, watermelon, mango, cantaloupe, and dark leafy greens.

Here are eight quick ways to work more veggies and fruits into your diet every day:

• Add grated or pureed vegetables and fruits to recipes for soups, meatloaf, and muffins.
• Keep cut-up veggies and fruits on hand so that they are ready for a quick snack.
• Frozen fruit slices are good during summers.
• Include shredded broccoli slaw, tomatoes, and dark lettuce on all your wraps and sandwiches.
• Eat raw veggies with salsas, low-fat dips, and hummus.
• Add frozen or fresh berries to salads, cereal, pancakes, and muffins.
• A handful of dried fruit is best to put on the top of your cereal and make it an easy snack.
• Enjoy a glass of vegetable or fruit juices as a filling and low-calorie afternoon snack.

Conclusion

Vitamin C supplementation is also helpful for people with anxiety. It helps to mitigate the adverse effects of anxiety in the body. Vitamin C helps to boost immunity, benefit heart health, anxiety, and stress. It is essential to make sure that you get plenty of Vitamin C every day, and it is a good step in the direction of better health.

If you have not thought about Vitamin C enriched diet, think now. If you want to know more about how to boost your immunity, stay tuned to the WiseRX^® Discount Card blog!