Vitamin C is one of the most essential vitamins to your body. It’s very accessible and very beneficial to people of all ages. We’ve all heard the advice “take vitamin C to prevent the flu,” but do you know what other benefits you can get from it?
In this article, you will find information about what Vitamin C does, what happens if you don’t get enough, the relationship between Vitamin C and Covid-19, and how Vitamin C helps to treat cancer. Continue reading and learn about all of this.
What is and what does Vitamin C do?
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is found in nature. Many animals and plants produce this vitamin by themselves. However, humans and some other animals cannot do it, so they need to obtain it through food.
Vitamin C aids the body’s healing process. Besides, it helps to form cartilage, blood vessels, collagen in the bones, to absorb and store iron in the body. It is essential for the body’s growth process, and aids in better development.
Benefits of vitamin C
- Boosts the immune system.
- Improves the development of nerve cells and prevents neural damage.
- It’s one of the best antioxidants in the blood.
- Increases levels of oxytocin hormone, aka the happiness hormone.
- Helps heal wounds.
- Reduces blood pressure.
- Protects the lungs from oxidative stress.
- Helps to prevent age-related macular degeneration.
These are just a few of the benefits associated with vitamin C consumption.
How does your body get Vitamin C?
The human body does not create this vitamin by itself, so it needs to obtain it through food or supplements. A balanced diet could be enough to get the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C.
- Organic: Vitamin C is found in nature. Plants and a lot of animals can create it by themselves. However, humans cannot do it. An organic way to obtain it is to include fruits and vegetables rich in Vitamin C in your regular diet. This is the most recommended way to consume vitamins because your body absorbs them easier and metabolizes them faster.
- Supplements: It is necessary to highlight that supplements should not replace a balanced diet, enough to get the amount of Vitamin C your body needs. However, doctors may recommend Vitamin C supplements in some instances. Remember, do not self medicate, always ask your doctor.
For example, people with any gastrointestinal disease get excellent results in their treatments by taking vitamin C supplements.
Vitamin C supplements can come in tablets, pills, gummies, capsules, and intravenous treatments. Also, this supplement can contain only Vitamin C or include other vitamins, Calcium. So check out the label carefully before buying.
Intravenous Vitamin C has been shown promising results in recent research. Keep reading to find out more about this.
What is the best form to consume Vitamin C?
The best way to consume Vitamin C is through food. According to the federal government in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, “Nutritional needs should be met primarily from foods,” including Vitamin C.
Best food with Vitamin C
You can get the right amount of Vitamin C by adding these foods to your diet: oranges, lemons, apples, bananas, kiwis, guavas, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, bell pepper, cauliflower, spinach, blackcurrants, brussels sprouts, red pepper, and others.
How often and how much should you take Vitamin C?
You already know the benefits of consuming Vitamin C, what it is, and what it does. Nonetheless, the amount of Vitamin C needed may vary from person to person. Age and gender can determine the intake of Vitamin C required. As stated before, humans cannot produce Vitamin C by themselves, so they have to obtain it daily.
There are no risks of side effects for people with good health who get Vitamin C naturally because the body takes what it needs and discards through urine the excess. Follow the recommendations below and get all the benefits of this vitamin.
How much Vitamin C should an adult take?
After 18 years old, the amount of Vitamin C that you need is determined first by gender.
- Male should take 90 mg per day.
- Female 75 mg per day.
Other elements are related to the amount required, for example:
- If you are pregnant, the recommendation is to take 85 mg of Vitamin C per day.
- If you are lactating, you’ll need 120 mg.
- Smokers, regardless of their gender, should increase the amount in 35 mg per day.
This information is based on the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs)
Kids and teens, how much Vitamin C should they take?
According to the RDAs, the age of kids is an essential factor in the amount of Vitamin C needed. At an early age, gender is not as important as it is for teenagers. Therefore, here is a table with the information you may need. Remember, these are general recommendations, and you should always ask your doctor.
| Age | Amount of Vitamin C per day |
| 0 – 6 months | 40 mg |
| 7 – 12 months | 50 mg |
| 1 – 3 years | 15 mg |
| 4 – 8 years | 25 mg |
| 9 – 13 years | 45 mg |
|
14 – 18 years 14 – 18 years |
Female: 65 mg Male: 75 mg |
Should I take Vitamin C daily?
Yes! You should take Vitamin C daily, according to the recommended amount. Take a look at the information shared above. Vitamin C gives a lot of long-term benefits to your body, boosting your immune system is one of them. Remember that your body can not create or store it, so make sure to take it from natural sources every day.
If you take other medications or have a health condition consult with your doctor about consuming Vitamin C, primarily via supplements. For example, people with liver disease are not recommended to take Vitamin C daily.
What happens if I don’t get enough Vitamin C?
Not consuming enough Vitamin C can cause anemia, bruising, bleeding gums, weakness, tiredness, and more difficult wound healing. That is why you must get it, ideally, as part of your daily diet.
Innovative treatments with vitamin C
New studies find new positive effects of this vitamin in our bodies every day, like helping save lives in Covid-19 times or even kill cancer. Discover some of this research below.
HAT Therapy
“Hat Therapy” is a treatment used by Wisconsin University, administered intravenously and including vitamin C.
The study, published in “Chest,” got promising results since patients who received the HAT Therapy lowered their mortality rate from 40.4% to 8.5%.
Besides the excellent results of that study, it’s important to highlight that HAT Therapy, which includes vitamin C, as well as hydrocortisone, ascorbic acid, and thiamine, is affordable and easy to access.
Vitamin C treatment in COVID-19 Times
Vitamin C is in the spotlight again, and the demand for this vitamin increased significantly since the outbreak of Coronavirus.
In China, doctors reacted fast and applied intravenous doses of vitamin C to patients affected by the virus. They also developed clinical trials focused on the use of IV vitamin C. None of the first 50 patients who were treated with IV vitamin C died.
In New York State, hospitals are administering intravenous doses of vitamin C to patients with COVID-19: 1,500 mg 3 or 4 times a day.
The official statement from Xi’an Jiaotong University Second Hospital said, “The patients who received vitamin C did significantly better than those who did not get vitamin C.”
Can vitamin C cure cancer?
Can vitamin C kill cancer? A group of researchers at Stanford University published a new experimental approach about killing cancer in the journal Oncotarget. The study was designed by Professor Michael Lisanti, who used vitamin C combined with antibiotics, in this case, Doxycycline.
The findings were that only vitamin C proved to be 10 times more effective in stopping carcinogenic cells than other treatments such as 2-DG. The study also found that the combination of vitamin C and antibiotics was 100 times more effective than 2-DG.
IV Therapy a treatment near you
At Bardisa LYL Center, we based our practice on a holistic approach that joins conventional and preventive medicine. We can offer you IV Therapy, a safe cocktail of different vitamins that are administered intravenously. Patients who take this treatment say that they felt re-energized and revitalized in a very short time (only 30 minutes).
Benefits of IV Therapy
- A rapid increase in nutrient-rich cells due to direct absorption.
- Increase in cellular healing rates.
- Body balance restored.
- Prevention and help to resolve and prevent illness by boosting the immune system.
Day by day, more clinical studies prove new benefits of vitamin C. Even now, many people don’t know that this vitamin could be an additional step in the fight against cancer.
At Bardisa LYL Center, we believe in preventive medicine. That’s why we offer our IV Therapy, which comprises doses of different vitamins, including vitamin C. Our patients can enjoy all the benefits of this vitamin in a short 30-minute treatment.
Take the first step to your IV Therapy! It’s time to recover your energy and recharge your body! Book your appointment here.
Most of the information presented in this article was taken from
https://www.worldhealth.net/news/new-york-hospitals-utilizing-vitamin-c/
https://www.worldhealth.net/news/antibiotics-and-vitamin-c-cancer-stem-cells/