One of the vitamins best known for its benefits, which many use as a supplement for its antioxidant effects and in turn because it costs very little, is vitamin C. It is usually very popular for its effects to relieve the symptoms of a cold, although in truth This is not scientifically supported, as it was shown that it can alleviate the duration of a cold but is effective for athletes, where colds can be relieved in half the cases. But its benefits, properties and therefore its uses extend far beyond its action on colds and that is what we are going to talk about today, because we are going to tell you what the vitamin is for what are its main benefits and properties for people’s health and in what foods can we find this vitamin and how can it be consumed.
Index
What is Vitamin C good for?
Benefits on circulation
By way of synthesis we could say that vitamin C has benefits on blood circulation, at the same time that it can help reduce and regulate the levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood, that is, bad cholesterol.
It can be especially good for people who have circulatory problems, such as people with diabetes, obesity, or smokers, because it preserves nitric oxide.
At the same time, it is said that vitamin C may be good for lowering and regulating LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. In any case, in this case it is important to note that there is no scientific evidence that proves this assumption, nor one that says that it reinforces the levels of good cholesterol.
To treat respiratory diseases, bacterial and other symptoms
The hypothesis has always been supported, and more than hypothesis has been affirmed, that vitamin C helps prevent the common cold. However, as we mentioned at the beginning, different studies that have been carried out have shown that although it does not reduce its symptoms, it can be a good alternative to reduce its duration.
On the other hand, other research indicated that those people who do high-performance physical activities, when they incorporate vitamin C, have a lower risk of suffering from diseases, reducing the chances by half.
On the other hand, it can be good for women who are going through menopause, because it can help alleviate the symptoms of hot flashes, and this is explained because it helps to increase the production of estrogens. In this sense, if vitamin C is used in vaginal tablets, it has been shown that it can help treat bacterial infection in the area.
On the other hand, vitamin C is especially useful for people who suffer from constipation and this is because it has a positive effect on intestinal transit because they work as a natural laxative.
It is also important to know that it has been shown that in the case of stress, alcoholism, type 2 diabetes and other viral infections there is a reduction of this vitamin. In any case, the role of vitamin C in this regard has not yet been completed.
It helps prevent premature aging and is good for your bones
It is especially recommended for older people who can incorporate vitamin C because it is good to prevent the loss of bone tissue, that is, to avoid the weakening of the bones. In turn, it is good for maintaining and repairing bone materials, such as teeth, bones, and cartilage.
Along the same lines, it is good for preventing premature aging and this is explained because vitamin C increases antioxidant enzymes, which allows to prevent the negative action of oxidative stress.
It is good for people who do sports and physical exercise
The consumption of vitamin C is especially recommended for people who perform physical exercise and intense sports, because it is good for preventing oxidative and muscle damage caused by strong exercise.
It is also good to alleviate the pain that can appear in the day after having done a strong exercise routine.
Here it is good to take up the cold again, in the sense that high-performance athletes can reduce their cold just by incorporating vitamin C.
Serves for the production of collagen
On the other hand, vitamin C plays an essential role when it comes to the production of collagen, this being a protein that we need for our skin and our bones, fulfilling a fundamental role in this regard.
Vitamin C to treat depression
Different studies have been able to show that vitamin C can have antidepressant effects. This may be due to the fact that it acts directly on neurotransmitters, especially serotonin, this being the neurotransmitter that is affected mainly in the case of depressions.
In any case, the mechanism of action is not yet known, but it is estimated that it would end up acting through potassium channels, as do the vast majority of antidepressants.
Benefits for the skin
It is common to see the presence of this vitamin in beauty and cosmetic products and this is because it has many benefits for the skin. In this sense, it helps promote skin health, making it ideal for those who have psoriasis or eczema, because it can help treat and alleviate the symptoms of these diseases that appear on the skin.
In turn, it has a healing effect, which can be used especially for cases of burns or wounds on the skin, because it can help them in healing.
Foods rich in Vitamin C
It is important to know that the body is not capable of producing this vitamin on its own, so in order to have it it is necessary to incorporate foods that are a source of it, which is the case of many fruits and vegetables.
The fruit best known for being a source of vitamin C is the orange, but it is not only it, because there are many others with equal or greater amounts of this vitamin, such as mandarin oranges, strawberries, melons, lemon, plum, kiwi, pinach, parsley, cauliflower and cabbage.
What we suggest is that you eat these foods raw and if you cook them, we recommend that the time be very short, otherwise all their properties may be lost during cooking.
Finally, remember that vitamin C is also available in supplement form and so we can find it in the form of powders and pills.
Before finishing, we want to emphasize that it is not good to overdo it with this vitamin, because exceeding the recommended maximum can have negative effects, such as pain in the abdomen area, accompanied by flatulence and diarrhea. And what’s more, different researches have mentioned that overdoing it could cause the formation of stones in the kidneys.
Dr. Samantha Robson ( CRN: 0510146-5) is a nutritionist and website content reviewer related to her area of expertise. With a postgraduate degree in Nutrition from The University of Arizona, she is a specialist in Sports Nutrition from Oxford University and is also a member of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.