What is Vitamin C and What Does It Do?

If you smoke, add 35 mg to the above values ​​to calculate your total daily recommended intake.

Which Foods Contain Vitamin C?

Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of vitamin C. You can get the recommended amount of vitamins by eating a variety of foods, including:

• Citrus fruits (such as oranges and grapefruits) and their juices, as well as red and green peppers and kiwis, which contain plenty of vitamin C.
• Other fruits and vegetables that also contain vitamin C, such as broccoli, strawberries, melons, baked potatoes and tomatoes.
• Some foods and drinks fortified with Ascorbic Acid. To find out whether vitamin C has been added to a food product, check product labels.

The ascorbic acid content of foods can decrease through long-term storage and cooking. Steaming or microwaving can reduce cooking losses. Fortunately, many of the best food sources of vitamin C, such as fruits and vegetables, are usually eaten raw.

What Types of Vitamin C/Ascorbic Acid Dietary Supplements Are Available?

Most multivitamins contain vitamin C. Ascorbic Acid is also available alone as a dietary supplement or in combination with other nutrients. Vitamin C in dietary supplements is usually in the form of ascorbic acid, but some supplements also have other forms, such as sodium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate, other mineral ascorbates, and ascorbic acid with bioflavonoids. Research has not shown that any form of vitamin C is better than other forms.

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Am I Getting Enough Vitamin C?

People who eat healthily get enough vitamin C from food and drinks. However, certain groups of people are more likely than others to have difficulty getting enough vitamin C:

• Smokers and those exposed to second-hand smoke, as smoke increases the amount of vitamin C the body needs to repair damage caused by free radicals. Smokers need 35 mg more vitamin C per day than non-smokers.
• Babies fed boiled cow's milk, as cow's milk contains very little vitamin C and heat can destroy vitamin C. Cow's milk is not recommended for babies under 1 year old. Breast milk and baby food contain sufficient amounts of vitamin C.
• People who eat a very limited variety of food.
• People with certain medical conditions, such as severe malabsorption, some types of cancer, and kidney disease requiring hemodialysis.

What Happens If I Don't Get Enough Vitamin C / Ascorbic Acid?

Scurvy may occur in people who take little or no vitamin C (less than about 10 mg per day) for weeks. Scurvy causes fatigue, inflammation of the gums, small red or purple spots on the skin, joint pain, poor wound healing, and corkscrew-shaped hair growth. Additional symptoms of scurvy include depression, as well as swollen, bleeding gums and loosening or loss of teeth. People with scurvy may also develop anemia. It is fatal if left untreated.

What are the Effects of Vitamin C on Health?

Scientists are studying vitamin C to understand how it affects health. Here are a few examples of what this research shows.

Cancer prevention and treatment: People who get high amounts of vitamin C from fruits and vegetables may have a lower risk of many types of cancer, such as lung, breast and colon cancer. However, taking vitamin C supplements with or without other antioxidants does not seem to protect people from getting cancer.
It is not clear whether taking high doses of vitamin C is useful as a cancer treatment. The effects of vitamin C appear to depend on how it is administered to the patient. Oral doses of vitamin C do not raise blood levels of vitamin C as much as intravenous doses given by injection. Several studies in animals and test tubes show that very high levels of vitamin C in the blood can shrink tumors. But more research is needed to determine whether high-dose intravenous vitamin C helps treat cancer in humans.

Vitamin C dietary supplements and other antioxidants may interact with chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer. People undergoing cancer treatment should talk to their oncologist before taking vitamin C or other antioxidant supplements, especially at high doses.

Cardiovascular disease: People who eat lots of fruits and vegetables appear to have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers believe that the antioxidant content of these foods may be partially responsible for this relationship, since oxidative damage is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. However, scientists aren't sure whether vitamin C itself, from foods or supplements, helps protect people from cardiovascular disease. It's also not clear whether vitamin C helps prevent worsening cardiovascular disease in people who already have it.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts: AMD and cataracts are two of the leading causes of vision loss in older people. Researchers do not believe that vitamin C and other antioxidants affect the risk of getting AMD. However, research suggests that vitamin C, along with other nutrients, may help slow the progression of AMD.

In a large study among older people with AMD who were at high risk of developing advanced AMD, those taking daily supplements of 500 mg vitamin C, 80 mg zinc, 400 IU vitamin E, 15 mg beta-carotene, and 2 mg copper were associated with increased copper levels for approximately 6 years. The chances of developing level AMD were lower. They also experienced less vision loss than those who did not take dietary supplements. People who have or are developing the disease may want to talk to their doctor about taking dietary supplements.

The relationship between vitamin C and cataract formation is unclear. Some research shows that people who get more vitamin C from foods have a lower risk of getting cataracts. However, more research is needed to clarify this relationship and determine whether vitamin C supplements affect the risk of cataracts.

Colds: Although vitamin C has long been a popular remedy for colds, research shows that for most people, vitamin C supplements do not reduce the risk of colds. However, people who regularly take vitamin C supplements may recover more quickly or have slightly milder symptoms when they get a cold. Using vitamin C supplements after cold symptoms begin does not appear to be effective.

Can Vitamin C Be Harmful?

Taking too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps. In people with a condition called hemochromatosis that causes the body to store too much iron, high doses of vitamin C can worsen iron overload and damage body tissues.

Upper daily limits for vitamin C include intake from all sources (food, beverages and supplements) and are listed below:

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Does Vitamin C Interact with Medications or Other Dietary Supplements?

Vitamin C dietary supplements may interact with or reduce the effects of medications you take. Here are a few examples:

• Vitamin C dietary supplements may interact with cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It is unclear whether vitamin C has the undesirable effect of protecting tumor cells from cancer treatments or whether it may help prevent damage to normal tissues. Those undergoing cancer treatment should consult their healthcare provider before taking vitamin C or other antioxidant supplements, especially in high doses.
• In one study, vitamin C plus other antioxidants (such as vitamin E, selenium, and beta-carotene) reduced the heart-protective effects of two drugs taken together to control blood cholesterol levels (statins and niacin). It is not known whether this interaction also occurs with other statins. Healthcare providers should monitor lipid levels in people taking both statins and antioxidant supplements.

Tell your doctor, pharmacist, and other healthcare professionals about the dietary supplements and medications you take. They can tell you whether these dietary supplements interact with prescription or over-the-counter medications, reduce their effects, or whether the medications affect how your body absorbs, uses, or breaks down nutrients.

Vitamin C and Healthy Nutrition

People should get most of their nutrients from food and drink. Foods contain vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and other components that benefit health. In some cases, fortified foods and dietary supplements are useful when it is not possible to meet the needs of one or more nutrients (for example, during certain life stages, such as pregnancy).

Disclaimer

This fact sheet, prepared by the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), provides information that should not replace medical advice. We encourage you to talk with your healthcare providers (doctor, registered dietitian, pharmacist, etc.) about your interest in, questions about, or use of dietary supplements and what may be best for your overall health. Mention of a particular product or service or recommendation from an organization or professional society in this publication does not imply endorsement by ODS of that product, service, or professional advice. 

Note: This article is a translation of ODS information and the translation has not been reviewed by ODS.

Source:

1. This article was translated from Vitamin C article.