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Health Benefits Of Vitamin C
To help your body work more efficiently, you will find the Vitamin C is a necessity. Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid and it is a very popular vitamin, but many people do not really know much about it.
Like Vitamin B, Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. Hence, if it is not used by your body, it gets eliminated via urination. Usually, both vitamins B and C are stored in the liver. This is where your body draws on this vitamin for support of its functions.
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Surprisingly, it has been found that humans were once able to create their own Vitamin C naturally by themselves. This is no longer the case. Somehow, this ability was lost over several generations. There are certain animals which still possess this natural functional ability. But not the primates and guinea pigs. Hence you often hear of research studies, including those that involve Vitamin C, being conducted on guinea pigs based on this similar characteristic to the humans.
Collagen creation is one affect of taking Vitamin C. This vitamin is found in many different parts of the body, including connective tissues, skeletal cells, smooth muscle cells, and cartilage. It is necessary in creating collage, because it helps in the process of hydroxylation to amino acids, and thereby adding hydrogen and oxygen to create pro collagen. This process is performed when the body needs it. Vitamin C can also be helpful in that it can help keep Vitamins E and A from oxidizing as well.
A deficiency in Vitamin C can cause you to develop scurvy. Scurvy is not a very common condition except in alcoholics. The main reason why it inflicts alcoholics especially is because alcoholics tend not to consume much of anything else other than their drinks. Scurvy comes with symptoms like bleeding gums, easy bruising, slow healing of wounds, joint pain, and the reduction of muscle tone.
Hence you need to ensure a diet that gives you adequate Vitamin C. To ensure that you get enough Vitamin C in your diet, you need to consume citrus fruits, such as limes, oranges, grapefruits, and limes. Other natural sources of Vitamin C are potatoes, tomatoes, and green peppers.
To make sure that all people are getting the proper amount of Vitamin C, a recommended daily allowance has been set. This recommended amount is normally somewhere in the range of 60 to 90mg daily. Americans normally consumer about 72mg daily of Vitamin C.
The good news is that scurvy can be prevented with just 5 to 7mg of Vitamin C and you can take as much as 2000mg daily without any health effects. Any Vitamin C over this dosage will not cause permanent problems, but you may experience diarrhea.
A myth about Vitamin C is that the more Vitamin C that you take, the longer that you will live. However, this myth is disputed by a study by the Mayo Clinic which showed that the reverse is true. Still, it is important that you get the recommended daily allowance. And it is best from natural food sources. If you find that you do not consume enough Vitamin C, then there are always supplements that you can turn to.
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