The Incredible Ways that Vitamin C Helps Your Body (Hint: It goes beyond your immune system!)

September 27, 2019 5 min read

When it comes to supporting your body’s systems, making sure you have enough vitamins and minerals remains a vital component.

Each vitamin plays an important role in making sure the body remains healthy and functioning optimally.

When discussing important vitamins, however, many people overlook the importance of Vitamin C. 

This vitamin is found throughout a variety of foods, including fruits and vegetables. 

People generally know that a lack of Vitamin C can lead to problems, like scurvy, but they do not realize the benefits they can also receive from increasing their intake of the valuable vitamin.

Scientists have also found a number of ways that this vitamin works to keep the body healthy, and they continue to uncover more as they dive into this incredible topic and area of research.

If you want to take steps to improve your health, here are some things you should know about the incredible power of this vitamin.

How Vitamin C works in the body

Vitamin C, which can also be called ascorbic acid, has an important job in a number of different functions and processes of your body. 

It can be seen in everything from the creation of collagen, to helping the body absorb iron, to giving the immune system a much-needed boost.

What makes Vitamin C even more beneficial is that extra is not stored in your body. 

This means that people do not have to worry much about consuming an excessive amount, as the body will simply expel any Vitamin C it cannot use. 

Consuming more than 2,000 mg, however, may irritate the stomach and cause some discomfort. 

Most people consuming vitamin C through their diet and modest supplementation, however, should not hit that limit.

Now that you understand a bit more about how Vitamin C works in the body, let’s discuss some incredible benefits it can have for the body.

It helps keep your heart healthy

Your entire cardiovascular system benefits greatly from Vitamin C. 

To begin, Vitamin C can help to lower the amount of plaque present throughout your arteries.

Studies that have looked at this impact find that this important vitamin can slow down the process known as atherosclerosis, which is also known as the hardening of the arteries.

Additionally, Vitamin C can reduce the amount of damage that occurs to the LDL cholesterol, which can then result in the buildup of plaque in the arteries. 

By helping with these two processes, the vitamin helps to protect the cardio processes of the body and helps the heart function better, allowing the body to keep away heart disease.

Additionally, some studies have also seen an increase in HDL, also known as the good cholesterol, after taking regular Vitamin C supplements.

Vitamin C has also been found to help lower blood pressure. 

One study found that taking supplements of this vitamin lowered subjects’ blood pressure by an average of 2 mm Hg. 

Meanwhile, those who had the highest starting blood pressures saw the greatest decreases.

Control your waistline

Vitamin C has also shown a strong correlation with healthier BMIs and lower amounts of body fat. 

One study looked at the Vitamin C levels found in people without supplementation. 

The study found that people who had higher percentages of body fat also had lower levels of Vitamin C. 

On the other hand, the study also found that women who had higher Vitamin C in their body also produced more adiponectin. 

This hormone works to suppress the production of fat. 

Therefore, higher levels of vitamin C also helps the body reduce the amount of fat present.

Improve your recovery after workouts

When people go through a challenging workout, they often encounter a number of side effects, such as muscle soreness. 

Vitamin C, however, can help reduce the amount of muscle soreness a person experiences following workouts. 

It also helps the body to maximize the benefits that it receives from exercise. 

Namely, when people consume regular amounts of vitamin C, studies found that they had improved muscle performance and lower amounts of stress molecules in their bodies. 

People who took the supplements while doing new exercises have also encountered less muscle damage from the new exercises.

Improve your overall health by reducing damaged DNA

People who are exposed to dangerous pollutants, such as cigarette smoke, are at risk for an increased amount of damage to their DNA. 

This damage is the first step towards cancer.

Fortunately, supplements and consumption of Vitamin C rich foods have been shown to improve this potential health problem. 

Vitamin C can help to reduce the amount of damage present in the DNA, even for people who regularly expose their bodies to these pollutants, such as smokers. 

The incredibly positive results from this supplementation even continued for several weeks after the supplementation.

Taking Vitamin C supplementation can also help to reduce inflammation in the body.

Damaged DNA can cause an inflammatory response that can set the stage for the development of tumors. 

Vitamin C also helps to reduce this inflammatory response, further protecting the body.

In other words, Vitamin C helps to reduce the impact of damaged DNA on the body, and can, therefore, help to reduce the risk of terrible diseases like cancer.

Reduce the risk of certain types of arthritis

The anti-inflammatory potential of Vitamin C can also be seen in people battling arthritis.

Gout, for example, causes inflammation in the joints. 

People find that it can cause a tremendous amount of pain. 

This reaction is caused by too much uric acid throughout the bloodstream.

Vitamin C, however, can reduce the amount of uric acid in the blood, which in turn helps people suffering from gout tremendously with their symptoms.

Improve your immune system

Vitamin C might not cure the common cold, but it does have tremendous potential to support the immune system and help it fight off various diseases. 

When the body has ample vitamin C, the white blood cells of the immune system are protected from damage and the vitamin may also help with the production of these important cells. 

In other words, the vitamin helps these important parts of the immune system function more effectively. 

People with certain diseases, such as pneumonia, have also shown faster recovery times when they have high levels of Vitamin C in their bodies.

Interestingly, even outside of helping to battle disease, Vitamin C also helps the skin heal faster. 

By improving the skin’s ability to heal, it also helps to keep out infections from the body.

Help your body absorb more iron

Iron also plays an important role in the body as it helps to transport oxygen in the bloodstream. 

When people have enough Vitamin C in their bodies, they will find that their absorption of iron also improves. 

The types of iron that the body often struggles to absorb, such as iron sources from plants, also improves when people have lots of Vitamin C present.

Vitamin C clearly has a powerful impact on the body and can do a tremendous amount to boost the health of all people. 

From improving your cardiovascular health and blood pressure to helping your skin health faster from wounds, researchers are just beginning to uncover the many benefits of Vitamin C

Make sure your diet is rich in Vitamin C foods and consider supplementation to help you take advantage of these benefits.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-c-benefits
https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-benefits-of-vitamin-c
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2008/4/Newly-Discovered-Benefits-Of-Vitamin-C/Page-01
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/vitamins/health-benefits-of-vitamin-c-or-ascorbic-acid.html
https://www.dnafit.com/advice/nutrition/7-health-benefits-of-vitamin-c.asp


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