There was a time when vitamin C was little more than an occasional cold remedy, and that thing that stopped sailors getting scurvy hundreds of years ago. However, scientists have taken a fresh look at vitamin C, finding that, when it comes to other vitamin and mineral supplements, it’s a cut above the rest.
Firstly, vitamin C is an antioxidant, meaning that it fights free radicals, which improves your wellness in a number of ways. Free radicals attack your protein, fats, DNA and collagen, and, because of this, Patricia Farris, MD, clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Tulane University in New Orleans says, ‘vitamin C does some repair and firming on the skin’.
The antioxidants in vitamin C also appear to improve heart wellness. Finnish researchers have asserted that taking more than 700 milligrams of C supplements daily reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease by 25%, whilst researchers at Harvard University found that combining 500 milligrams of vitamin C daily and 600 IU of vitamin E cuts women’s risk of stroke by 30%. This is possibly because the vitamin enhances your endothelial cell-function, slows artery clogging and lowers your blood pressure.
It also turns out that vitamin C can fight the big C, as scientists have discovered that a diet full of vitamin C–rich fruits and vegetables may lower your risks of bladder, oesophagus, stomach, and lung cancers. Also, when given via an IV, vitamin C may even be toxic to cancer cells, meaning that, one day, it could be used to cure cancer, as it kills some cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed.
So that’s the body but what about your mind? Not only can pairing vitamins C and E improve your heart health, a study published in Archives of Neurology found that this combination may reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease by up to 64%. According to study author Peter Zandi, PhD, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, ‘Some studies suggest that vitamin E does its job reducing free radicals in the body, but then its capacity is depleted. Vitamin C may recharge E.’
Aside from this, vitamin C is supposed to improve your eyesight, and even help you to live longer, so get a range of coloured fruits and vegetables in your diet, talk to your doctor about vitamin C and E supplementation or you could even add a little citrus juice to green tea. Whatever you do, you won’t just be keeping colds and scurvy at bay!
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