A Guide to the C Vitamin

The c vitamin has got to be the most widely known vitamin these days. It is not surprising because the body needs this source for over 300 functions. In fact, it has been proved to help protect against heart disease, cancer and other serious illnesses. Without the body would not be able to heal itself either. This is because it 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 c vitamin this would be almost impossible. Collagen has a multitude of functions in the body, including keeping the organs in place.

The c vitamin is also an antioxidant for the body and helps other vitamins and minerals to be absorbed better. Folic acid and iron, for example, need it to maximise their usefulness. The more the body has, the better its defence against colds and other common ailments and the c vitamin may not prevent a person catching a virus but it does help speed up the recovery process.

You can find it in almost every fruit and vegetable but some have far higher content than others. Cranberries and melons have high content. In fact, tropical fruits have the highest c vitamin amounts of all fruit. Hot peppers are amongst the richest sources when it comes to vegetables. The hotter the pepper, the higher its content is. Unfortunately it is water soluble so many vegetables lose their effectiveness as a c vitamin provider if they are boiled for a long time. Steaming or quick stir frying vegetables ensures that more of their c vitamin content is retained. The recommended daily amount is easily obtained from eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day if they are consumed raw or cooked quickly. Greatest vitamin C sources are citrus, cabbage family, chilli peppers, berries, melons, asparagus, rose hips.

C vitamin supplements are extremely useful to ensure that people obtain sufficient c vitamin. However, with a balanced diet the amount is likely to be sufficient. However, if a person begins feeling tired or lethargic then a supplement will help overcome this. There is no danger of having too much as the body simply excretes the excess.

There are a lot of people who do not have enough natural vitamin sources in their diet and therefore suffer from a deficiency of one or more vitamins. Obviously, it is possible to buy supplements to help overcome any deficiencies but for the majority of people it should be possible for them to obtain the majority of their recommended daily allowance of vitamins from natural sources.

Once again, the key to gaining the correct amount of vitamins from natural sources is to eat a healthy and balanced diet.

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