January 10, 2010
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A Guide to Vitamin C
The vitamin C has got to be the most widely known vitamin these days. It is not surprising because the body needs vitamin C for over 300 functions. In fact, vitamin C has been proved to help protect against heart disease, cancer and other serious illnesses. Without vitamin C the body would not be able to heal itself either. This is because the vitamin C is vital for the formation of collagen. Whenever a person has a cut or an injury it is the collagen that helps repair the damage and without sufficient vitamin C this would be almost impossible. Collagen has a multitude of functions in the body, including keeping the organs in place, and it would not be able to do this without sufficient vitamin C.
Vitamin C is also an antioxidant for the body and helps other vitamins and minerals to be absorbed better. Folic acid and iron, for example, need the vitamin C to maximize their usefulness. The more vitamin C that the body has, the better its defense against colds and other common ailments and the vitamin C may not prevent a person catching a virus but it does help speed up the recovery process.
There is vitamin C in almost every fruit and vegetable but some have far higher vitamin C content than others. Cranberries and melons have high vitamin C content. In fact, tropical fruits have the highest vitamin C amounts of all fruit. Hot peppers are amongst the richest sources of the vitamin C when it comes to vegetables. The hotter the pepper, the higher its vitamin C content is. Unfortunately, the vitamin C is water soluble so many vegetables lose their effectiveness as a vitamin C provider if they are boiled for a long time. Steaming or quick stir frying vegetables ensures that more of their vitamin C content is retained. The recommended daily amount of the vitamin C is easily obtained from eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day if they are consumed raw or cooked quickly.
Vitamin C supplements are extremely useful to ensure that people obtain sufficient vitamin C. Many individuals will take large dose of vitamin C to ward of colds and viruses. I personally take about 3000 mg of vitamin C a day along with my other supplements and I have maybe 1 or 2 colds a year. There is no danger of having too much vitamin C as the body simply excretes the excess.
Until next time, yours in good health!
Jeff Kimball
Editor of The-Vitamin-and Supplement-Guide.com