Vitamin C is an important vitamin, that means your physique can’t produce it. But, it has many roles and has been linked to spectacular well being advantages.
It’s water-soluble and located in lots of vegetables and fruit, together with oranges, strawberries, kiwi fruit, bell peppers, broccoli, kale, and spinach.
The advisable each day consumption for vitamin C is 75 mg for ladies and 90 mg for males (1).
Whereas it’s generally suggested to get your vitamin C consumption from meals, many individuals flip to dietary supplements to satisfy their wants.
Listed below are 7 scientifically confirmed advantages of taking a vitamin C complement.
1. Might cut back your danger of continual illness
Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that may strengthen your physique’s pure defenses (2).
Antioxidants are molecules that enhance the immune system. They achieve this by defending cells from dangerous molecules known as free radicals.
When free radicals accumulate, they will promote a state referred to as oxidative stress, which has been linked to many continual illnesses (3).
Research present that consuming extra vitamin C can enhance your blood antioxidant ranges by as much as 30%. This helps the physique’s pure defenses battle irritation (4, 5).
2. Might assist handle hypertension
Roughly one-third of American adults have hypertension (6).
Hypertension places you vulnerable to coronary heart illness, the main reason behind loss of life globally (7).
Research have proven that vitamin C could assist decrease blood stress in each these with and with out hypertension.
An animal research discovered that taking a vitamin C complement helped calm down the blood vessels that carry blood from the center, which helped cut back blood stress ranges (8).
Furthermore, an evaluation of 29 human research discovered that taking a vitamin C complement lowered systolic blood stress (the higher worth) by 3.8 mmHg and diastolic blood stress (the decrease worth) by 1.5 mmHg, on common, in wholesome adults.
In adults with hypertension, vitamin C dietary supplements lowered systolic blood stress by 4.9 mmHg and diastolic blood stress by 1.7 mmHg, on common (9).
Whereas these outcomes are promising, it’s not clear whether or not the results on blood stress are long run. Furthermore, individuals with hypertension shouldn’t depend on vitamin C alone for therapy.
3. Might decrease your danger of coronary heart illness
Coronary heart illness is the main reason behind loss of life worldwide (7).
Many components enhance the chance of coronary heart illness, together with hypertension, excessive triglyceride or LDL (unhealthy) levels of cholesterol, and low ranges of HDL (good) ldl cholesterol.
Vitamin C could assist cut back these danger components, which can cut back coronary heart illness danger.
For instance, an evaluation of 9 research with a mixed 293,172 members discovered that after 10 years, individuals who took not less than 700 mg of vitamin C each day had a 25% decrease danger of coronary heart illness than those that didn’t take a vitamin C complement (10).
Apparently, one other evaluation of 15 research discovered that consuming vitamin C from meals — not dietary supplements — was linked to a decrease danger of coronary heart illness.
Nevertheless, scientists had been not sure whether or not individuals who consumed vitamin-C-rich meals additionally adopted a more healthy life-style than individuals who took a complement. Thus, it stays unclear whether or not the variations had been because of vitamin C or different features of their weight-reduction plan (11).
One other evaluation of 13 research appeared on the results of taking not less than 500 mg of vitamin C each day on danger components for coronary heart illness, similar to blood ldl cholesterol and triglyceride ranges.
The evaluation discovered that taking a vitamin C complement considerably lowered LDL (unhealthy) ldl cholesterol by roughly 7.9 mg/dL and blood triglycerides by 20.1 mg/dL (12).
In brief, it appears that evidently taking or consuming not less than 500 mg of vitamin C each day could cut back the chance of coronary heart illness. Nevertheless, if you happen to already eat a vitamin-C-rich weight-reduction plan, then dietary supplements could not present extra coronary heart well being advantages.
4. Might cut back blood uric acid ranges and assist forestall gout assaults
Gout is a kind of arthritis that impacts roughly 4% of American adults (13).
It’s extremely painful and entails irritation of the joints, particularly these of the large toes. Folks with gout expertise swelling and sudden, extreme assaults of ache (14).
Gout signs seem when there may be an excessive amount of uric acid within the blood. Uric acid is a waste product produced by the physique. At excessive ranges, it could crystallize and deposit within the joints.
Apparently, a number of research have proven that vitamin C could assist cut back uric acid within the blood and, because of this, shield towards gout assaults.
For instance, a research together with 1,387 males discovered that those that consumed essentially the most vitamin C had considerably decrease blood ranges of uric acid than those that consumed the least (15).
One other research adopted 46,994 wholesome males over 20 years to find out whether or not vitamin C consumption was linked to growing gout. It discovered that individuals who took a vitamin C complement had a 44% decrease gout danger (16).
Moreover, an evaluation of 13 research discovered that taking a vitamin C complement over 30 days considerably lowered blood uric acid, in contrast with a placebo (17).
Whereas there seems to be a powerful hyperlink between vitamin C consumption and uric acid ranges, extra research on the results of vitamin C on gout are wanted.
5. Helps forestall iron deficiency – “vitamin c 500 mg”
Iron is a crucial nutrient that has quite a lot of features within the physique. It’s important for making purple blood cells and transporting oxygen all through the physique.
Vitamin C dietary supplements can assist enhance the absorption of iron from the weight-reduction plan. Vitamin C assists in changing iron that’s poorly absorbed, similar to plant-based sources of iron, right into a type that’s simpler to soak up (18).
That is particularly helpful for individuals on a meat-free weight-reduction plan, as meat is a significant supply of iron.
In actual fact, merely consuming 100 mg of vitamin C could enhance iron absorption by 67% (19).
Because of this, vitamin C could assist cut back the chance of anemia amongst individuals susceptible to iron deficiency.
In a single research, 65 youngsters with delicate iron deficiency anemia got a vitamin C complement. Researchers discovered that the complement alone helped management their anemia (20).
If in case you have low iron ranges, consuming extra vitamin-C-rich meals or taking a vitamin C complement could assist enhance your blood iron ranges.
6. Boosts immunity
One of many important causes individuals take vitamin C dietary supplements is to spice up their immunity, as vitamin C is concerned in lots of elements of the immune system.
First, vitamin C helps encourage the manufacturing of white blood cells referred to as lymphocytes and phagocytes, which assist shield the physique towards an infection (21).
Second, vitamin C helps these white blood cells perform extra successfully whereas defending them from harm by probably dangerous molecules, similar to free radicals.
Third, vitamin C is an important a part of the pores and skin’s protection system. It’s actively transported to the pores and skin, the place it could act as an antioxidant and assist strengthen the pores and skin’s limitations (22).
Research have additionally proven that taking vitamin C could shorten wound therapeutic time (23, 24).
What’s extra, low vitamin C ranges have been linked to poor well being outcomes.
For instance, individuals who have pneumonia are inclined to have decrease vitamin C ranges, and vitamin C dietary supplements have been proven to shorten the restoration time (25, 26).
7. Protects your reminiscence and considering as you age
Dementia is a broad time period used to explain signs of poor considering and reminiscence.
It impacts over 35 million individuals worldwide and sometimes happens amongst older adults (27).
Research recommend that oxidative stress and irritation close to the mind, backbone, and nerves (altogether referred to as the central nervous system) can enhance the chance of dementia (28).
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. Low ranges of this vitamin have been linked to an impaired means to assume and keep in mind (29, 30).
Furthermore, a number of research have proven that folks with dementia could have decrease blood ranges of vitamin C (31, 32).
Moreover, excessive vitamin C consumption from meals or dietary supplements has been proven to have a protecting impact on considering and reminiscence as you age (33, 34, 35).
Vitamin C dietary supplements could assist towards circumstances like dementia if you happen to don’t get sufficient vitamin C out of your weight-reduction plan. Nevertheless, extra human research are wanted to know the results of vitamin C dietary supplements on nervous system well being (36).