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The ABCs of Vitamin C

Ascorbic acid is just another name for vitamin C, which is one of the so-called “essential nutrients.” These are nutrients that are necessary for our bodies to function properly, and which must be supplied through our diets. Why is ascorbic acid essential? First and foremost, because we have to have vitamin C for the formation of collagen. We’ve probably all seen the ads promoting collagen as a fountain of youth for our skin. Whether or not a cream can turn back time is a matter for debate, but there’s no question as to the vital role collagen performs in our own bodies. That’s because collagen is the substance that provides both structure and support to our tissues, forming the basis of…

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 Ascorbic acid

Ascorbic acid, as vitamin C, was the topic of much controversy in the 1970s. Double Nobel prizewinner Linus Pauling advocated the consumption of large doses of the vitamin as a way to compensate for the body’s inability to produce enough of it for optimum health. Specifically, Pauling espoused taking 2.5 g or more vitamin C per day for general health and to prevent or treat the common cold. He and others also contended that doses as great as 10 g/day helped prevent or cure heart disease and cancers. The so-called vitamin C megadose theory has been largely discredited.

Articles of Interest

Foods High in Vitamin C

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a powerful antioxidant that supports the immune system, promotes healthy skin, aids in wound healing, and assists in the absorption of iron from plant-based foods. Vitamin C also plays a role in collagen production, which is essential for maintaining healthy skin, blood vessels, and connective tissues.

Myths and truths about vitamin C

The idea that vitamin C can prevent colds became popular in the 1970s, but research has largely debunked this myth. While taking vitamin C regularly doesn't appear to reduce the chances of catching a cold, some evidence suggests it might slightly shorten the duration of a cold or lessen the severity of cold symptoms.

Nature’s superhero: The benefits of vitamin C

Also called ascorbic acid, vitamin C is an essential nutrient. It helps form cartilage, blood vessels, muscles and collagen in your skin and bones. Unlike other vitamins that our bodies produce naturally, vitamin C levels need to be replenished each day. That means we need to get it through our diet. So how much vitamin C do we need per day? Probably less than you’d think. “Males need 90 milligrams (mg) each day,” says Kevin Ly, MD, a family medicine doctor at Geisinger’s Elysburg clinic. “And females need 75 mg daily.” If you’re pregnant, you need 85 mg of vitamin C daily. And if you smoke, aim for an extra 30 mg each day.

Vitamin C - an Update on Current Uses and Functions

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is one of the most common and essential vitamins. Due to its protective role, the supplementation of vitamin C becomes a must especially during the higher pollution levels. A day after day, scientists and researchers discover new functions for vitamin C. It was and still one of the cheapest treatment modalities that could preserve and protect human beings from infections, toxification, autoimmune diseases and cancer development. The role of vitamin C in providing better esthetics exhibits great importance. Its role as anti-aging agent preserves skin color and texture. Although it is not naturally synthesized in our bodies, our food is entirely rich of it.

Vitamin C and Immune Function

Vitamin C is an essential micronutrient for humans, with pleiotropic functions related to its ability to donate electrons. It is a potent antioxidant and a cofactor for a family of biosynthetic and gene regulatory enzymes. Vitamin C contributes to immune defense by supporting various cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune system. Vitamin C supports epithelial barrier function against pathogens and promotes the oxidant scavenging activity of the skin, thereby potentially protecting against environmental oxidative stress.

Vitamin C: A Comprehensive Review of Its Role in Health, Disease Prevention, and Therapeutic Potential

Since Albert Szent-Györgyi discovered it and it became used in treating scurvy, vitamin C has attracted interest in many studies due to its unique properties. It is an important cofactor in the synthesis of collagen and hormones, and it is involved in immunity, iron absorption, and processes requiring antioxidants.

Resources

12 Fascinating Facts About Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a common vitamin that your mom probably told you to take to not get sick. It is one of the most searched vitamins online. Do you know why? Other than the fact there are so many uses for it, it helps your entire body, and it has two names (the other being ascorbic acid,) there can’t be much to know… right?

Linus Pauing Institute

Vitamin C is an essential cofactor in numerous enzymatic reactions, e.g., in the biosynthesis of collagen, carnitine, and neuropeptides, and in the regulation of gene expression. It is also a potent antioxidant.

NIH

Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. Humans, unlike most animals, are unable to synthesize vitamin C endogenously, so it is an essential dietary component.

The Nutrition Source

Even before its discovery in 1932, nutrition experts recognized that something in citrus fruits could prevent scurvy, a disease that killed as many as two million sailors between 1500 and 1800. [1] Vitamin C plays a role in controlling infections and healing wounds, and is a powerful antioxidant that can neutralize harmful free radicals. It is needed to make collagen, a fibrous protein in connective tissue that is weaved throughout various systems in the body: nervous, immune, bone, cartilage, blood, and others.