Why doesn’t anyone talk about the importance of vitamin C anymore?
There is a great deal of hype about the importance of vitamins D and B, but everyone is forgetting the important role vitamin C plays in your health.
Possibly because it was the first vitamin discovered and reporters are tired of talking about it.
It could be that Linus Pauling oversold vitamin C in the 1970’s and 80’s. He claimed it could cure AID’s and cancer.
While vitamin C may have been overhyped in the past it is still very important.
Here are some reasons why it is a vital nutrient.
#1 – You have to get it from outside sources
Some vitamins your body can produce itself, and vitamin D can be synthesized via sun exposure, but you have to get C from the food you eat.
While most people think oranges when they think Vitamin C, there are many foods with much higher concentrations including:
- Kakadu plum 5300 mg per 100 g
- Red acerola cherries 1644 mg per 100 g
- Rose hips 426 mg per 100 g
- Chili Peppers 242 mg per 100 g
- Sweet yellow peppers 183 mg per 100 g
- Broccoli 89 mg per 100 g
- Brussels Sprouts 85 mg per 100 g
- The famous orange finally comes in at a mere 53 mg per 100 g
(Keto dieters just need to remember that with low carbs comes less of a need for vitamin C. You can also get it from organ meats such as liver and low carb vegetables).
#2 – People with the highest vitamin C live the longest
A 16-year study showed that women with the highest levels of vitamin C in their blood had a 25% lower chance of dying than those who had low levels.
Other studies show time and time again if you want to have a long and healthy life, have a high level of vitamin C.
#3 – There is no toxic level of vitamin C
It is a water-soluble vitamin so it won’t kill you if you got too much, though it might cause stomach problems.
Other vitamins like some B vitamins and certainly vitamin D can be lethal in high doses.
#4 – Vitamin C Adds Cardio Support
This vitamin is great at providing oxidative-stress relief to your cardiovascular system.
It has been shown to help heal heart tissue by preserving cardiac stem cells.
Smokers who received 2 grams of vitamin C per day were able to repair heart damage in less than 2 weeks.
It also reduces the tendency to form plaque and clots in the blood.
#5 – Boosts Immune System
This is the one most of us are familiar with. If you were around in the 1970’s and 80’s everyone would load up on vitamin C at the first sign of a cold.
While there still is no cure for the common cold, vitamin C is still great to get in your system to ramp up and support your immune system.
Since the 1970’s vitamin C has been shown to promote the actions of phagocytes the cells that eat bacterial and fungal cells.
This vitamin activates T-cells which look for infection and helps oxidative stress.
#6 – Promotes bone health
The higher your vitamin C level, the greater bone density you possess.
This goes along with the discovery that vitamin C deficiency leads to rickets or soft bones.
In 2018 it was determined that high levels of vitamin C helped prevent hip fractures and other debilitating problems.
#7 – It might boost your mood, and fight depression
If you are getting enough vitamin C and don’t have the problems above, you should be pretty happy.
If you are not, blame your lack of vitamin C.
New studies show that it does improve mood disorders.
A 1000 mg a day was enough to improve anxiety issues too.
While vitamin C may not get the press it used to, it is still just as important to your well being as it always has been.
