Most people can get enough vitamin C in their diet by eating fruits and vegetables. However, due to dietary restrictions or medical conditions, some people take vitamin C supplements.
Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin and antioxidant that is essential for health. It contributes to the function of the immune system, skin and bones, and can resist the destruction of free radicals, which are molecules that adversely affect the human body.
This article looks at who can benefit from taking vitamin C, how much vitamin people need to consume each day, and some of the best vitamin C supplements on the market.
Who Needs Vitamin C Supplementation?
Vitamin C deficiency is rare. Most people can get enough vitamin C from fruits and vegetables, but others may have difficulty getting enough vitamin C from their diet.
People who may have vitamin C deficiency include:
senior citizen
People with drinking disorders
People with eating disorders
People who smoke because cigarette smoke increases the damage caused by free radicals, which leads to an increased need for vitamin C
People who are restricted from eating for medical reasons
People with certain diseases, such as kidney disease that requires hemodialysis, diseases that cause malabsorption, and certain types of cancer
Babies who drink boiled milk, because the calories destroy the small amount of vitamin C contained in it
Those who are concerned about their lack of nutrition can ask their doctor for a blood test to find out which nutrients are needed. A long-term lack of vitamin C can lead to scurvy.
With the exception of people with vitamin C deficiency, others benefit from consuming this nutrient. For example, some evidence suggests that vitamin C can reduce the severity and duration of the common cold.
How much vitamin C do people need?
It is recommended that our daily intake of vitamin C be 75-90 mg.
In general, the small intestine absorbs up to 100 mg and consumes vitamin C from food every day. Once cells are saturated with vitamin C, they are unable to absorb more of it.
But some people think that taking large doses of vitamin C is beneficial. This may stem from a 1976 paper showing that high doses of vitamin C can prolong the lifespan of patients with advanced cancer.
But recent studies have not shown that these are correct.
Doses of vitamin C exceeding 2,000 mg per day may cause side effects such as:
diarrhoea
disgusting
Abdominal cramps
People with special physical conditions and people taking certain medications may need to avoid vitamin C supplementation. These conditions include hemochromatosis (which causes the body to store too much iron) and kidney stones.
Vitamin C interacts with chemotherapy.
Vitamin C comes in several forms. In supplements, vitamin C usually comes in the form of ascorbic acid. But some supplements also contain other forms, such as sodium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate, or ascorbic acid and bioflavonoids.
All forms of vitamin C are equally beneficial. There are several ways to take vitamin C, including:
capsule
Chew gummy
Effervescent tablets
powder
liquid
Spray
Some people may prefer the convenience of swallowing tablets, while others may prefer to mix them into the powder in their beverages.
People with difficulty absorbing may prefer sublingual supplements because the body absorbs these nutrients from the mouth rather than the intestines.