C the Many Benefits of Vitamin C
It would be impossible in a short column to share all of the beneficial ways vitamin C helps your body function. So, I’ll hit the highlights for you and hope you consider it one of your better nutrient friends.
Sailors in by-gone centuries learned the valuable of taking limes in their ship’s drinking water. It prevented scurvy and gave rise to their nickname, "Limies." Scurvy would have made it very difficult to do the many tasks of a seaman. But, did you know that many Americans may be borderline scurvy victims?
Let’s look at the symptoms: weakness (beyond fatigue), swollen and bleeding gums, loosened teeth, bad breath, bruising, red or bluish spots on the arms and hands, joint pain and body aches, dry, brittle hair and hair follicles can becoming clogged, swelling in the arms and legs, wounds not healing and irritability. It can lead to slurred speech, difficulty breathing, chest pain and bleeding into the sac around the heart, nerve problems and even seizures, if you have any of the earlier symptoms, consider looking at what you can do to support your body.
So, why do we get such a vast array of symptoms? Why might a doctor mis-diagnose the situation? Let’s look at how it works in your body.
Have you heard of the SAD diet? Sad American Diet. Too many processed foods and too little raw, fresh (not nuked) veggies and fruit can deplete the body of many needed nutrients.
Vitamin C supports the immune system which helps prevent the constant need for such things as vaxes, which, by the way, often contain substances inside that damage the immune system.
The way vitamin C works is by deactivating free radicals. Too bad that can’t happen in society as well, although it might improve the disposition of some. Free radicals are substances that are short of electrons. That substance will go up to a healthy cell and steal the needed electron from it. That throws the cell into an unhealthy state and may trigger its robbing its neighbor from an electron, passing on the trait.
Vitamin C helps fight inflammation which is a result of free radical damage. Linus Pauling Institute has many documents on the benefits of vitamin C, along with lengthy scientific research into the intricacies of how this works inside the body. https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-C
One of the ways vitamin C disarms free radicals is by acting as an antioxidant. It gives up electrons without turning into a free radical itself. By doing this, it prevents further cell damage.
This function is particularly important when rancid fats and oils are taken into the body. They can damage the DNA within the cell which helps it function in the organ or gland in which it’s found. Vitamin C, in an intricate body dance, changes theses toxins into another form that is harmless. Then it can be removed from the body. The reason why this is so important is that it can prevent certain forms of cancer
https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/discovery-shows-new-vitamin-c-health-benefits
Another benefit: it aids the production of collagen which is vital to healthy body function. Collagen is a protein involved in keeping you healthy. It’s a component of the tissues that connect body parts together, such as skin, blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, joints, bones and muscles. You might call it body glue.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/collagen-benefits
I said collagen’s a protein, but it actually has 19 different amino acids, which are protein building blocks. One of those aminos (proline) helps protect the interior of your blood vessels and your heart. Perhaps it helps your joints by strengthening the blood vessels adjacent to them. Cartilage does not have a blood supply. However, synovial fluid which helps cushion joints and cartilage receives nutrients indirectly from blood plasma.
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Synovium_&_Synovial_Fluid
Another protein in collagen helps form healthy DNA and boosts muscle growth and thereby, energy. (Glycine) Glutamine, helps sleep disorders, assists the brain in concentrating, strengthens the immune system and helps with energy production. Arginine improves circulation and also helps immunity Threonine helps form another necessary substance that works with collagen, elastin.
https://draxe.com/nutrition/what-is-collagen/
Vitamin C helps your brain operate normally. Because of all of the toxins we’re exposed to today, this is very important. One way it does this is to help detox the stuff that would otherwise limit brain function.
In fact, in my book (How to Stay Healthy in a World Gone Mad), I share about a rattlesnake victim. In the Emergency Room, a wise physician gave him intravenous vitamin C, and he quickly recovered from the very toxic poison that had already begun to circulate in his body. So, it does help our body deal with the many exposures in our food, air and water.
Vitamin C is water soluble. This means it’s absorbed through special membranes in the intestine. Because its soluble in water, it has to be replenished more frequently than fat soluble vitamins.
https://scienceoxygen.com/is-vitamin-c-soluble-in-water/#How_are_water_soluble_vitamins_absorbed
Vitamins A, D3, E and K2 are fat soluble which means they’re absorbed as they piggy-back to other fats. They may then be stored in the liver or fat tissue.
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/fat-soluble-vitamins-vs-water-soluble-vitamins
Food Sources: Oranges, citrus, strawberries, kiwi, melons, tomatoes, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers and papaya.
Dr. Edward Group has a very important video on the following site that gives interesting details on the foods containing Vitamin C. Dr, Group mentions a number of herbs as well as other fruits and veggies.
It takes real effort to keep our bodies healthy in today’s world. Vitamin C can be one of your best nutrient friends in this effort.
Stay healthy, friends. Your life may depend on it.
Nancy L. Pidutti, Retired nurse, honorary PhD, NHH, author, hospital Chaplain
