7 Health Benefits of Vitamin C
Vitamin C, found in many fruits and vegetables, has many health benefits. It helps strengthen our immune system and may help lower blood pressure.
Vitamin C is an essential vitamin, meaning your body can't produce it. Yet, it has many roles and has been linked to impressive health benefits.
It's water-soluble and found in many fruits and vegetables, including oranges, strawberries, kiwi fruit, bell peppers, broccoli, kale, and spinach.
The recommended daily intake for vitamin C is 75 mg for women and 90 mg for men.
While it's commonly advised to get your vitamin C intake from foods, many people turn to supplements to meet their needs.
Here are 7 scientifically proven benefits of taking a vitamin C supplement.
May reduce your risk of chronic disease
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can strengthen your body's natural defenses.
Antioxidants are molecules that boost the immune system by protecting cells from harmful molecules called free radicals.
When free radicals accumulate, they can promote a state known as oxidative stress, which has been linked to many chronic diseases.
A recent review of studies on the importance and usefulness of vitamin C in preventing and treating various conditions highlights the benefits of vitamin C consumption in maintaining optimal health and preventing deficiencies and their related conditions.
May help manage high blood pressure
Almost one-half of American adults have high blood pressure.
High blood pressure puts you at risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death globally.
Studies have shown that vitamin C may help lower blood pressure in both those with and without high blood pressure.
An animal study found that taking a vitamin C supplement helped relax the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart, which helped reduce blood pressure levels.
Moreover, an analysis of 29 human studies found that taking a vitamin C supplement reduced systolic blood pressure (the upper value) by 3.8 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (the lower value) by 1.5 mmHg, on average, in participants with normal or high blood pressure.
While these results are promising, it's unclear whether the effects on blood pressure are long term. Moreover, people with high blood pressure should not rely on vitamin C alone for treatment.
May lower your risk of heart disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.
Many factors increase the risk of heart disease, including high blood pressure, high triglyceride or LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, and low HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
Vitamin C may help reduce these risk factors, which may reduce heart disease risk.
For example, an analysis of 9 studies with a combined 293,172 participants found that after 10 years, people who took at least 700 mg of vitamin C daily had a 25% lower risk of heart disease than those who did not take a vitamin C supplement.
Interestingly, another analysis of 15 studies found that consuming vitamin C from foods — not supplements — was linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
However, scientists were unsure whether people who consumed vitamin-C-rich foods also followed a healthier lifestyle than people who took a supplement. Thus, it remains unclear whether the differences were due to vitamin C or other aspects of their diet.
Another analysis of 13 studies looked at the effects of taking at least 500 mg of vitamin C daily on risk factors for heart disease, such as blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
The analysis found that taking a vitamin C supplement significantly reduced LDL (bad) cholesterol by approximately 7.9 mg/dL and blood triglycerides by 20.1 mg/dL.
In short, it seems that taking or consuming at least 500 mg of vitamin C daily may reduce the risk of heart disease. However, supplements may not provide additional heart health benefits if you already consume a vitamin-C-rich diet.
May reduce blood uric acid levels and help prevent gout attacks
Gout is a type of arthritis that affects approximately 4% of American adults.
It's incredibly painful and involves inflammation of the joints, especially those of the big toes. People with gout experience swelling and sudden, severe attacks of pain.
Gout symptoms appear when there is too much uric acid in the blood. Uric acid is a waste product produced by the body. At high levels, it may crystallize and deposit in the joints.
Interestingly, several studies have shown that vitamin C may help reduce uric acid in the blood and, as a result, protect against gout attacks.
For example, a study including 1,387 men found that those who consumed the most vitamin C had significantly lower blood levels of uric acid than those who consumed the least.
Another study followed 46,994 healthy men over 20 years to determine whether vitamin C intake was linked to developing gout. It found that people who took a vitamin C supplement had a 44% lower gout risk.
Additionally, an analysis of 13 studies found that taking a vitamin C supplement over 30 days significantly reduced blood uric acid compared with a placebo.
While there appears to be a strong link between vitamin C intake and uric acid levels, more studies are needed on the effects of vitamin C on gout.
Helps prevent iron deficiency
Iron is an essential nutrient that has a variety of functions in the body. It's necessary for making red blood cells and transporting oxygen throughout the body.
Vitamin C supplements can help improve the absorption of iron from the diet. Vitamin C assists in converting iron that is poorly absorbed, such as plant-based sources of iron, into an easier-to-absorb form.
This is especially useful for people on a meat-free diet, as meat is a significant source of iron.
As a result, vitamin C may help reduce the risk of anemia among people prone to iron deficiency.
If you have low iron levels, consuming more vitamin-C-rich foods or taking a vitamin C supplement may help improve your blood iron levels.
Boosts immunity
One of the main reasons people take vitamin C supplements is to boost their immunity, as vitamin C is involved in many parts of the immune system.
First, vitamin C helps encourage the production of white blood cells known as lymphocytes and phagocytes, which help protect the body against infection.
Second, vitamin C helps these white blood cells function more effectively while protecting them from damage by potentially harmful molecules, such as free radicals.
Third, vitamin C is an essential part of the skin's defense system. It's actively transported to the skin, where it can act as an antioxidant and help strengthen the skin's barriers.
Studies have also shown that taking vitamin C may shorten wound healing time.
What's more, low vitamin C levels have been linked to less favorable health outcomes.
For example, people with pneumonia tend to have lower vitamin C levels and vitamin C supplements have been shown to shorten the recovery time.
Protects your memory and thinking as you age
Dementia is a broad term used to describe symptoms of impaired thinking and memory.
It affects 47 million people worldwide and typically occurs among older adults.
Studies suggest that oxidative stress and inflammation near the brain, spine, and nerves (altogether known as the central nervous system) can increase the risk of dementia.
Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant. Low levels of this vitamin have been linked to an impaired ability to think and remember.
Moreover, several studies have shown that people with dementia may have lower blood levels of vitamin C.
Furthermore, high vitamin C intake from food or supplements has been shown to have a protective effect on thinking and memory as you age.
Vitamin C supplements may aid against conditions like dementia if you don't get enough vitamin C from your diet. However, additional human studies are needed to understand the effects of vitamin C supplements on nervous system health.
Unproven claims about vitamin C
While vitamin C has many scientifically proven benefits, it also has many unfounded claims supported by either weak or no evidence.
Here are some unproven claims about vitamin C:
Prevents the common cold. While vitamin C appears to reduce the severity of colds and recovery time by 8% in adults and 14% in children, it does not prevent them.
Reduces cancer risk. A handful of studies have linked vitamin C intake to a lower risk of several cancers. However, most studies have found that vitamin C does not affect the risk of developing cancer.
Protects against eye disease. Vitamin C has been linked to reduced risks of eye diseases like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. However, vitamin C supplements have no effect or may even cause harm.
May treat lead toxicity. Although people with lead toxicity appear to have low vitamin C levels, there is no strong evidence from human studies that vitamin C can treat lead toxicity.
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