Benefits of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a nutrient that is necessary for normal development and growth in the body while providing essential antioxidants that can be used to remove dangerous free radicals from the body. This allows vitamin C to repair tissues throughout the body in addition to numerous other health benefits of consuming this nutrient. It is necessary to have a steady stream of vitamin C in your diet in order to gain these benefits. Read on to learn about more benefits of vitamin C.

Benefits of Vitamin C

Vitamin C has been found to be used in a variety of bodily functions that incorporate a number of organ systems, further solidifying the idea that it is essential to get an adequate amount of this vitamin in your regular diet.

Colds. Vitamin C is often cited as a cure for the common cold. In fact, you cannot cure the common cold by ingesting any particular nutrient, but ensuring that your body has an adequate supply of vitamin C can help to prevent more severe complications such as lung infections or pneumonia from developing.
Stroke. Studies have indicated that people who have high concentrations of vitamin C in their bloodstream are 42 percent less likely to suffer from a stroke than those that have very low concentrations of this vitamin in their system, though the reasoning behind this phenomenon is unclear. It is essential to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to get the adequate supply of vitamin C to establish this lower stroke risk.
Eye Conditions. Vitamin C is highly concentrated in the tissues of the eye and the ocular blood vessels. It has also been found that getting an adequate supply of vitamin C can are significantly less likely to develop glaucoma, nuclear cataracts, and some are able to avert the onset of cataracts by as much as 10 years by altering their diet to include more of this nutrient. 300mg per day was found to be the minimum dose of vitamin C to see these effects. The National Eye Institute found that consuming 500mg per day of vitamin C and other antioxidants such as zinc, vitamin E or beta carotene could help to reduce the effects of age related macular degeneration. Individuals that were at a very high risk of this condition saw as much as 19 percent improvement and the average individual saw as much as a 25 percent decrease in their symptoms.
Skin Aging. Additional studies have noted that increasing your intake of vitamin C can decrease dryness and wrinkling and improve the aging appearance of the skin.
Stress. Vitamin C can help to revitalize your immune system when stress has left it weak, a common issue in today’s overactive society. Vitamin C is quite sensitive to stress so individuals that are obese, alcoholic or smoke tend to see deficiencies of this nutrient. Checking overall vitamin C levels is a common examination to determine overall health levels.
Others. Getting an adequate supply of vitamin C has also been found to assist in preventing bronchitis, asthma, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and inflammation.

Food Sources of Vitamin C

Those that are interested in better taking advantage of the health benefits of consuming more vitamin C can use a variety of foods to increase their supply.

Category	Food
Fruits	Kiwi fruit, watermelon, citrus fruits such as grapefruit or orange, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, papaya, mango and pineapple
Vegetables	Winter squash, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, spinach, leafy greens, turnip greens, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, red peppers and green peppers.

Category

Food

Fruits

Kiwi fruit, watermelon, citrus fruits such as grapefruit or orange, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, papaya, mango and pineapple

Vegetables

Winter squash, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, spinach, leafy greens, turnip greens, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, red peppers and green peppers.

Recommended Intakes of Vitamin C

The amount of vitamin C a person needs will vary, so it is important to note the recommended amount of vitamin C for your size as well as the upper tolerable intake for this vitamin so you do not wind up consuming more than you need.

1. RDA or Recommended Dietary Allowance

Daily recommended intakes were created by the Food and Nutrition Board as a set of values that could be used by healthy people to determine the most appropriate amount of a nutrient to consume. These are applicable for 97-98 percent of healthy people.

Age	Male	Female	Pregnancy	Lactation
0-6 months	40mg	40mg	_	_
7-12 months	50mg	50mg	_	_
1-3 years	15mg	15mg	_	_
4-8 years	25mg	25mg	_	_
9-13 years	45mg	45mg	_	_
14-18 years	75mg	65mg	80mg	115mg
19 years and older	90mg	75mg	85mg	120mg

2. AI or Adequate Intake

Adequate intake refers to levels that provide an assumed level of nutritional adequacy though evidence is insufficient to determine a specific amount of a vitamin needed to provide results.

In most cases it has been found that consuming 500mg of vitamin C each day is adequate to achieve any necessary health results. In general, it is advised to attempt to eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables to get all of the phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals that are necessary to maintain your overall health. Some foods are particularly helpful in providing an adequate intake of vitamin C that is helpful for your body.

Food	Serving Size
Cantaloupe	1 cup: 50mg of vitamin C
Orange Juice	1 cup: 97mg
Cooked Broccoli	1 cup: 74mg
Red Cabbage	½ cup: 40mg
Green Pepper	½ cup: 60mg
Red Pepper	½ cup: 95mg
Kiwi	1 medium: 70mg
Tomato Juice	1 cup: 45mg

3. UL or Tolerable Upper Intake Level

The tolerable uptake level refers to the maximum amount of a substance you can consume in a day before you begin to experience negative health effects.

Age	Male	Female	Pregnancy	Lactation
1-3 years	400mg	400mg	_	_
4-8 years	650mg	650mg	_	_
9-13 years	1200mg	1200mg	_	_
14-18 years	1800mg	1800mg	1800mg	1800mg
19 years and older	2000mg	2000mg	2000mg	2000mg