What does vitamin C do to your body?
Last updated on April 21st, 2023 at 06:06 pm
10 minutes read.
In this article:
Overview
Do you often take vitamin C without thinking about what exactly it does in your body?
Vitamin C also known as ascorbic acid is a nutrient your body needs to form blood vessels, cartilage, muscle, and collagen in bones. Vitamin C is also vital to your body’s healing process.
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps protect your cells against the effects of free radicals molecules produced when your body breaks down food or is exposed to tobacco smoke and radiation from the sun, X-rays, or other sources. (1, 2)
Free radicals might play a role in heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Vitamin C also helps your body absorb and store iron. (3)
Your body doesn’t produce vitamin C, so the only means to get vitamin C is through your diet. Meaning you must eat food rich in vitamin C to get enough your body needs for optimal function.
Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits, papaya, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, etc. Vitamin C is also available as an oral supplement, typically in the form of capsules and chewable tablets. (4)
If you often eat varieties of fruits you are probably getting enough vitamin C that your body needs.
This article tells you seven ways vitamin C benefits your health, food to eat, and the dark side of vitamin C. Feel free to skip ahead.
What are the causes of vitamin C deficiency?
Vitamin C deficiency is more likely to affect people who:
- Smoke or are exposed to secondhand smoking
- Have certain gastrointestinal conditions or certain types of cancer
- Have a limited diet that doesn’t regularly include fruits and vegetables.
- Alcoholism.
- Babies are only fed cow’s milk.
- If you consume more tea and toast diet.
- Poor people who are not able to afford fruits and vegetables.
- People with type 1 diabetes who have high vitamin C requirements. (5, 6)
Severe vitamin C deficiency can lead to a disease called scurvy, which causes anemia, bleeding gums, bruising, and poor wound healing. (7)
Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin C deficiency
What are the signs and symptoms of vitamin C deficiency?
Some of the common signs and symptoms of vitamin C deficiency are:
- Fatigue
- Impaired wound healing
- Weakened bones
- Poor immune function
- Corkscrew hairs
- Weight gain
- Rough and dry skin
- Bleeding gums
- Tooth loss (one of the symptoms of scurvy)
- Anemia
- Easy bruising
- Red patches and
- Painful joints
Vitamin C deficiency manifests symptomatically after 8 to 12 weeks of inadequate intake and presents as irritability and anorexia. After these initial symptoms, dermatologic findings include poor wound healing, and gingival swelling (gum swelling). (8)
Food sources of vitamin C
What are the best foods to eat to get enough vitamin C?
Vitamin C is found in a wide variety of fruit and vegetables.(4)
These include:
- citrus fruit, such as oranges and orange juice
- peppers
- strawberries
- blackcurrants
- Tomatoes
- Cherry (udara/agbarimo)
- broccoli
- Mangoes, cashew fruits, pawpaw/papaya,
- brussels sprouts, dark green vegetables,
- Watermelon, cucumber, carrots
- potatoes
Health Benefits of Vitamin C
What are the benefits of taking vitamin C?
Here are seven vital ways vitamin C benefits your body:
1. Reduces your risk of chronic disease
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can strengthen your body’s natural defenses. (9)
Antioxidants are molecules that boost the immune system. They do so by protecting cells from harmful molecules called free radicals.
When free radicals accumulate, they can promote a state known as oxidative stress which has been linked to many chronic diseases. (10)
Studies show that consuming more vitamin C can increase your blood antioxidant levels by up to 30%. This helps the body’s natural defenses fight inflammation. (11, 12)
2. May help manage high blood pressure
Approximately one-third of American, and African adults have high blood pressure. (13, 14)
In Nigeria, elderly people and those under the age of 45 and above may develop high blood pressure. (15)
High blood pressure puts you at risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death globally (16)
Studies have shown that vitamin C may help lower blood pressure in both those with and without high blood pressure.
An animal study found that taking a vitamin C supplement helped relax the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart, which helped reduce blood pressure levels. (17)
Moreover, an analysis of 29 human studies found that taking a vitamin C supplement reduced systolic blood pressure (the upper value) by 3.8 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (the lower value) by 1.5 mmHg, on average, in healthy adults.
In adults with high blood pressure, vitamin C supplements reduced systolic blood pressure by 4.9 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.7 mmHg, on average. (18)
While these results are promising, it’s not clear whether the effects on blood pressure are long-term. Moreover, people with high blood pressure should not rely on vitamin C alone for treatment.
3. Can lower your risk of heart disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. (7)
Many factors increase the risk of heart disease, including high blood pressure, high triglyceride or LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, and low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol.
Consuming Vitamin C through fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk factors that cause heart disease. However, you must reduce your intake of saturated fats and trans fat such as beef meat, fast food, and highly processed food.
For example, an analysis of 9 studies with a combined 293,172 participants found that after 10 years, people who took at least 700 mg of vitamin C daily had a 25% lower risk of heart disease than those who did not take a vitamin C supplement. (19)
Interestingly, another analysis of 15 studies found that consuming vitamin C from foods not supplements was linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
However, scientists were unsure whether people who consumed vitamin-C-rich foods also followed a healthier lifestyle than people who took a supplement. Thus, it remains unclear whether the differences were due to vitamin C or other aspects of their diet. (20)
Another analysis of 13 studies looked at the effects of taking at least 500 mg of vitamin C daily on risk factors for heart disease, such as blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
The analysis found that taking vitamin C supplements significantly reduced LDL (bad) cholesterol by approximately 7.9 mg/dL and blood triglycerides by 20.1 mg/dL. (21)
In short, it seems that taking or consuming at least 500 mg of vitamin C daily may reduce the risk of heart disease. However, if you already consume a vitamin-C-rich diet, then supplements may not provide additional heart health benefits.
4. May reduce blood uric acid levels and help prevent gout attacks
Gout is a type of arthritis that affects approximately 4% of adults. (22)
It’s incredibly painful and involves inflammation of the joints, especially those of the big toes. People with gout experience swelling and sudden, severe attacks of pain. (23)
Gout symptoms appear when there is too much uric acid in the blood. Uric acid is a waste product produced by the body. At high levels, it may crystallize and deposit in the joints.
Interestingly, several studies have shown that vitamin C may help reduce uric acid in the blood and, as a result, protect against gout attacks.
For example, a study including 1,387 men found that those who consumed the most vitamin C had significantly lower blood levels of uric acid than those who consumed the least. (24)
Another study followed 46,994 healthy men over 20 years to determine whether vitamin C intake was linked to developing gout. It found that people who took a vitamin C supplement had a 44% lower gout risk. (25)
In addition, an analysis of 13 studies found that taking a vitamin C supplement over 30 days significantly reduced blood uric acid, compared with a placebo. (26)
While there appears to be a strong link between vitamin C intake and uric acid levels, more studies on the effects of vitamin C on gout are needed.
I hope you’re getting value.
5. Helps prevent iron deficiency
Iron is an important nutrient that has a variety of functions in the body. It’s essential for making red blood cells and transporting oxygen throughout the body.
Vitamin C supplements can help improve the absorption of iron from the diet. Vitamin C assists in converting iron that is poorly absorbed, such as plant-based sources of iron, into a form that is easier to absorb. (26)
This is especially useful for people on a meat-free diet, as meat is a major source of iron.
In fact, simply consuming 100 mg of vitamin C may improve iron absorption by 67%. (27)
As a result, vitamin C may help reduce the risk of anemia among people prone to iron deficiency.
In one study, 65 children with mild iron deficiency anemia were given a vitamin C supplement. Researchers found that the supplement alone helped control their anemia. (28)
If you have low iron levels, consuming more vitamin-C-rich foods or taking a vitamin C supplement may help improve your blood iron levels.
6. Boosts immunity
One of the main reasons people take vitamin C supplements is to boost their immunity, as vitamin C is involved in many parts of the immune system.
First, vitamin C helps encourage the production of white blood cells known as lymphocytes and phagocytes, which help protect the body against infection. (29)
Second, vitamin C helps these white blood cells function more effectively while protecting them from damage by potentially harmful molecules, such as free radicals.
Third, vitamin C is an essential part of the skin’s defense system. It’s actively transported to the skin, where it can act as an antioxidant and help strengthen the skin’s barriers. (30)
Studies have also shown that taking vitamin C may shorten wound healing time. (31, 32)
What’s more, low vitamin C levels have been linked to poor health outcomes.
For example, people who have pneumonia tend to have lower vitamin C levels, and vitamin C supplements have been shown to shorten the recovery time. (33, 34)
7. Protects your memory and thinking as you age
Dementia is a broad term used to describe symptoms of poor thinking and memory.
It affects over 35 million people worldwide and typically occurs among older adults. (35)
Studies suggest that oxidative stress and inflammation near the brain, spine, and nerves (altogether known as the central nervous system) can increase the risk of dementia. (36)
Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant. Low levels of this vitamin have been linked to an impaired ability to think and remember. (37, 38) (29Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source).
Moreover, several studies have shown that people with dementia may have lower blood levels of vitamin C. (39, 40)
Furthermore, high vitamin C intake from food or supplements has been shown to have a protective effect on thinking and memory as you age. (41, 42, 43)
Vitamin C supplements may aid against conditions like dementia if you don’t get enough vitamin C from your diet. However, additional human studies are needed to understand the effects of vitamin C supplements on nervous system health. (44)
How much vitamin C is too much?
If you take vitamin C for its antioxidant properties, keep in mind that the supplement might not offer the same benefits as naturally occurring antioxidants in food.
The recommended daily amount of vitamin C is 90 milligrams for adult men and 75 milligrams for adult women but if a person consumes more than 1,000 mg of vitamin C through supplements per day, they will not absorb it all. (1, 45)
Get more of your vitamin C from fruits and vegetables instead of tablets and supplements.
Risk and side effects
Can too much vitamin C cause health problems?
In as much as consuming vitamin C through fruit and vegetables cannot cause any negative effects taking too many vitamin C tablets or supplements may result in kidney stones
However, when taken at appropriate doses, oral vitamin C supplements are generally considered safe.
Taking too much vitamin C can cause side effects, such as:
- Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
- Heartburn
- Stomach cramps or bloating
- Fatigue and sleepiness, or sometimes insomnia
- Headache
- Kidney stones
- Skin flushing. (45, 46)
Long-term use of oral vitamin C supplements over 2,000 milligrams a day increases the risk of significant side effects.
Related: Scurvy diseases: what are the causes and how do you prevent it?
Related: What are the side effects of taking Excess Vitamin C?
Tell your doctor that you’re taking vitamin C supplements before having any medical tests. High levels of vitamin C might interfere with the results of certain tests, such as stool tests for occult blood or glucose screening tests.
Here is what scientific research said about consuming vitamin C and your health:
Research on the use of vitamin C for specific conditions shows:
Cancer: Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables might lower your risk of many types of cancer, such as breast, colon, and lung cancers.
However, it’s not clear whether this protective effect is related to the vitamin C content in the food. Taking oral vitamin C supplements doesn’t appear to offer the same benefit. (47, 48)
Common cold: Taking oral vitamin C supplements won’t prevent the common cold. Evidence also shows that the benefits of regularly taking vitamin C supplements to reduce the duration or severity of a cold are minimal. (49, 50)
Eye diseases: Taking oral vitamin C supplements in combination with other vitamins and minerals seems to prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from worsening.
Some studies also suggest that people who have higher levels of vitamin C in their diets have a lower risk of developing cataracts. (51, 52, 53)
Vitamin C drug interaction
Can vitamin C interact with other drugs?
Yes.
Possible drug interactions include:
- Aluminum: Taking vitamin C can increase your absorption of aluminum from medications containing aluminum, such as phosphate binders. This can be harmful to people with kidney problems.
- Chemotherapy: There is concern that the use of antioxidants, such as vitamin C, during chemotherapy might reduce the effect of chemotherapy drugs.
- Estrogen: Taking vitamin C with oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy might increase your estrogen levels.
- Protease inhibitors: Oral use of vitamin C might reduce the effect of these antiviral drugs.
- Statins and niacin: When taken with vitamin C, the effects of niacin and statins, which might benefit people with high cholesterol, could be reduced.
- Warfarin (Jantoven): High doses of vitamin C might reduce your response to this anticoagulant. (1)
I hope you get the value worth your time. I appreciate the time you spend with me. Leave a comment if you find this post helpful. Do you have any other questions as regards this topic I didn’t touch here? Feel free to share with me in the comment below.
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
The content provided in Living Good Blog is for informational and educational purposes only. It’s not intended to provide medical advice or take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal doctor. All readers/viewers of this content are advised to consult their qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Living Good Blog takes no responsibility for possible health consequences of any person(s) reading or following the information in this educational content. Viewers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medication, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, or lifestyle program.
