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Writer's pictureCynthia A. Barrington, BCHHP, CNHP

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. This means it needs water to dissolve and be used by our bodies. While some animals produce vitamin C within their bodies, humans do not produce it endogenously (from within). Therefore, we must get it from our food. It is considered an essential dietary compound.


Vitamin C is an important antioxidant because it has been shown to produce other antioxidants. This includes alpha-tocopherol aka vitamin E. Vitamin C has been referred to as ascorbic acid, which is the synthetic version of vitamin C. You are much better off to get your vitamin C in the natural form.


Benefits:

  • Necessary for the biosynthesis of collagen, an essential component of connective tissue, which plays a vital role in wound healing

  • Necessary for the biosynthesis of L-carnitine, which comes from an amino acid and transports fatty acids to cells to be used for energy

  • Necessary for the biosynthesis of certain neurotransmitters

  • Plays an important role in immune function

  • Helps with the absorption of nonheme iron found in plant-based foods

  • Protects against disease and bacteria

  • Helps with adrenal gland function

  • Promotes healthy gums

  • Aids in production of anti-stress hormones

  • Aids in production of interferon which, when released, causes cells to heighten their viral defenses

  • Guards against skin infections and wrinkles

  • Supplementation may help reduce symptoms of asthma

  • Powerful antioxidant that helps protect against pollution in the body

  • Taken with vitamin E, promotes higher cognitive abilities in the aging

Foods that provide vitamin C:

  • Berries

  • Citrus fruits

  • Green vegetables

  • Tomatoes

  • Pineapple

Nearly all natural foods contain vitamin C.


Herbs that provide vitamin C

  • Alfalfa

  • Burdock Root

  • Camu Camu

  • Capsicum

  • Chickwood

  • Acerola fruit

  • Aloe Vera

  • Rose hips

  • Red Raspberry

  • Yellow Dock

Signs of deficiency

  • Colds

  • Lack of energy

  • Bruising

  • Bleeding gums and tooth loss

  • Achy bones, joints and muscles

  • Sterility

  • Kidney stones

  • Shortness of breath

  • Apathy

  • Poor digestion

  • Poor wound healing

  • Scurvy

Notes

In supplementation, Ester C is created by having vitamin C react with a mineral to make it non-acidic. This creates non-acidic vitamin C metabolites that enter the bloodstream four times faster, move into the blood cells more efficiently and stays in the tissue longer than regular forms of vitamin C.



Office of Dietary Supplements - Vitamin C. (n.d.). Retrieved May 13, 2020, from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/

Mawer, R. (2018, November 6). L-Carnitine - A Review of Benefits, Side Effects and Dosage. Retrieved May 13, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/l-carnitine

Hovis, B. S. (n.d.). Vitamins & Minerals. Retrieved May 11, 2020, from https://trinityschool.instructure.com/courses/499/pages/week-1-lecture-3-vitamins-and-minerals

Interferon. (n.d.). Retrieved May 14, 2020, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/interferon


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