What Role Does Vitamin C Play In Your Body? | Health

By JayAnderson
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There are various vitamins that your body needs daily in order to function at top efficiency. One of these is vitamin C. Some of the best ways to get vitamin C is to eat a balanced diet which includes things like tomatoes, milk, broccoli, green peppers, strawberries, citrus fruits, green vegetables, fish, and potatoes. Carefully read the labels on your foods since you may be getting Vitamin C and not even knowing it. Vitamin C is sometimes also called ascorbic acid. If you are worried that you cannot get enough vitamin C naturally in your food, discuss it with your doctor. They might recommend a daily vitamin C supplement to help you maintain the appropriate levels of vitamin C in your body.

Vitamin C is one of the thirteen essential vitamins that our body needs every day. Some of these vitamins are fat-soluble, which means that your body can store them for later use. But vitamin C is one of the vitamins in the body that is not fat-soluble. That means that the body cannot store it and it must be consumed every day. How much vitamin C you should have in your body depends on your age, gender, weight, lifestyle, and whether you are pregnant or not.

What is the purpose of vitamin? First, vitamin C is an antioxidant, which means that it fights the things in your body that can cause organ, tissue, and cell damage. Vitamin C protects the body and may even be associated with reducing the signs of aging. If you do not have enough vitamin C in your body, you may develop a disease called scurvy. Scurvy is very uncommon in the US, but can cause anemia, gum disease, skin hemorrhages, and weakness.

If you begin taking vitamin C supplements, be sure to follow your doctor's recommendations. If you take too much vitamin C, you can overdose, just as you would with almost any other typical drug. But this is very uncommon, since vitamin C is water soluble and high amounts will leave the body at a normal rate. But when this does happen, it may cause kidney stones and interfere with vitamin B12 absorption, causing anemia. Diarrhea is also a side effect. It is always best to listen to your doctor's recommendation.

Most of the time, you will automatically get enough vitamin C in your foods, especially if you are eating a healthy diet. But if you are not getting enough vitamin C and your physician tells you to start taking vitamin C supplements, look at the labels of different food brands before you buy anything. Because vitamin supplements are classified as foods and not drugs, they are not regulated by the government and each brand's potency will vary slightly from the next.

There are many things your body needs on a regular basis to keep operating at peak efficiency. You would not under-inflate the tires in your car or put regular gas in a high performance sports car would you? By the same token, treating your body like the finely tuned machine it is can only be to your benefit.

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For more information and additional insights about Vitamin C and other vitamins, please visit our web site at http://www.vitamins-explained.com

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