Why Eat Vitamin C?

What Vitamin C Does

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is needed to produce collagen.  Collagen is the glue that holds our body together.  It is the framework of bones, teeth, connective tissue and the walls of our blood vessels.







When cement contractors lay down the foundation of a house, they use metal rods to add a flexible stability to the cement mixture.  Collagen in our bones is like the metal rods in cement.

Vitamin C is used in the construction of neurotransmitters for the function of our Nervous System. Neurotransmitters are an essential part of the communication network in our body which enables our muscles to move.  They enable us to sense stimuli and respond to them.

Vitamin C is also used to construct hormones for the Endocrine System.

It acts as an antioxidant.  There are some "reactive" oxygen molecules hanging out in our body that mess the fine-tuned order up.  Gremlins.  They have been named Free Radicals.  Vitamin C acts as part of the immune system as it neutralizes these Free Radicals before they cause damage.

Moderate increases of Vitamin C have been found to reduce the duration of cold symptoms.

Vitamin C Deficiency 

When sailors went out to sea in the olden days for an extended period of time, they didn't bring enough fresh fruits and veggies that contained Vitamin C so they became deficient and developed a condition called Scurvy.  In Scurvy, our gums become inflamed, swollen, and start to bleed.  Our teeth loosen in their sockets and will eventually fall out if we do not correct the deficiency in time.  We experience internal bleeding in our subcutaneous tissue as well as in our joints.  We bruise easily and our cuts and scrapes do not heal very quickly.  We may feel tired, lethargic, depressed.  In this state we have a hard time remaining balanced in the face of conflict.  We may lose it pretty easily.  So even though most of us are not out at sea, if we don't get plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables--the kind that are rich in Vitamin C--then we may be experiencing at least mild symptoms of its deficiency.  Are you feeling lost at sea?

Vitamin C Toxicity

It's hard to get too much of any vitamin or mineral from our food. If we're taking supplements it can be quite easy to overdose.  Overdoses of vitamin C can cause nausea, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and sometimes even headaches.  Long term overdosing can lead to kidney stone formation.

 

 

 

  

Vitamin C Sources

The main source of Vitamin C is citrus fruits.   These other foods are also high in Vitamin C.

The Numbers

Adults:  75-90 mg/day

More Specifically
Infants
0-6 mo:  about 40 mg/day
6-12 mo:  50 mg/day

Children 
1-3:  15 mg/day
4-8:  25 mg/day

Males 
Tweens 9-13:  45 mg/day 
Teens 14-18:  75 mg/day
Adults 19 and up:  90 mg/day

Example Servings
1 large orange = 75 mg Vitamin C
1/2 c. broccoli = 35 mg Vitamin C
1 kiwi (2" diameter) = 64 mg Vitamin C
1 red pepper (medium) = 152 mg Vitamin C!

You can look up the nutrient content of any food on the USDA's Nutrient Data Base of its National Agricultural Library.

All information for this post was obtained from:  Visualizing Nutrition, Everyday Choices, 2nd edition by Mary B. Grosvenor and Lori A. Smolin