Vitamin C also plays many important roles such as:
- Maintaining the health of teeth, gums, bones, cartilage, capillaries and connective tissue.
- Acting as a natural antiseptic
- Controlling blood cholesterol levels
- Maintaining healthy sex organs
- Providing resistance to infections especially colds and flu
- Promoting iron absorption from food by making folic acid active
- Producing anti-stress hormones
- Acts as an antioxidant
- Preventing gastric and oesophageal cancer
The following ailments has also been treated quite successfully by vitamin C:
- Arthritis
- High blood cholesterol levels
- Bleeding gums
- Scurvy
- Anaemia
- Respiratory diseases
Both alcohol and stress can inhibit the absorption of vitamin C. The same goes for contraceptive pills, aspirins, anti-arthritic drugs and antibiotics. Diabetics, athletes and anyone suffering from accidental wounds or undergoing surgery will need extra amounts of vitamin C.
Even though vitamin C is so crucial to our health, surprisingly, vitamin C deficiency is widespread, most probably because a lot of people do not eat sufficient leafy green vegetables and citrus fruits and instead rely too much on packeted fruit juices which soon lose their vitamin C content once opened.
Vitamin C deficiency symptoms include:
- Weakness
- Muscle and joint pain
- Gingivitis
- Bleeding gums
- Loosening of teeth
- Irritability
On the other hand, symptoms of excessive vitamin C intake include:
- Nausea
- Abdominal cramps
- Diarrhea
However overdoes of vitamin C is rather rare and it is regarded as a very safe vitamin. Good sources of vitamin C are:
Fruits
- Blackberries
- Blackcurrants
- Cranberries
- Grapefruit
- Kiwi fruit
- Lemons
- Limes
- Melons
- Oranges
- Passion fruit
- Pineapples
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
Vegetables
- Beetroot
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Courgettes
- Green or red peppers
- Lettuce
- Mustard and cress
- Onions
- Parsley
- Tomatoes
- Watercress
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