Vitamin C: Essential for Good Health

         

The benefits of Vitamin C go beyond the generally known relieve of colds and flu. It also helps the body to make collagen, a tough, fibrous protein that helps to build connective tissue, skin, bones, and teeth, and it also plays a role in wound healing.

There is also some evidence that foods high in vitamin C and other antioxidants can reduce the inflammation from asthma and return the airways to normal. I refer to Nutrition 

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Osteoarthritis Doctors believed for many years that osteoarthritis was a “natural” result of wear an tear on the joints. Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine studied the eating habits of people with osteoarthritis of the knee. They found that those getting the most vitamin C – more than 200 milligrams per day – were three times less likely to have the disease get worse than those who got the least.

Cancer Vitamin C also has been shown to help prevent cancer-causing compounds from forming in the digestive tract. Gladys Block PhD, professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley, analyzed dozens of studies that looked at the relationship between vitamin C and cancer. From the 44 studies she examined, 33 showed that people who consumed the most of this vitamin had the lowest risk of cancer.

Diabetes If you have diabetes, fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C and E may be your ticket to healthier eyes, nerves, and blood vessels.These vitamins are known as antioxidants. They help protect your body’s cells against free radicals, naturally occur cell-damaging molecules that may pose particular risks to people with diabetes.

Rheumatism People who are suffering from rheumatism also need Vitamin C This vitamin strengthens the connective tissue which hold the cells together. Connective tissue forms the sinews, ligaments, and cartilage of the body. When this vitamin is lacking, the connective tissue loses its tone and loses its defense against harmful bacteria and viruses. Strong connective tissue protect the cells against infection.

Capillaries Vitamin C also strengthens the blood vessel walls and it is the capillaries that are affected most by a vitamin C deficiency. When this happens, the capillaries break down and blood leaks from them into the tissues. These tiny haemorrhages occur also in the joints, and causes rheumatic pain. (When capillaries break near the surface of the skin, the escaping blood discolors the skin and results in a bruise. The capillaries exist in such an abundance in the human body, that if the capillaries of one man were stretched out in a single line, they would reach two and a half times around the earth!

With every type of disease the capillaries will be harmed and conversely, by strengthening them, every diseased state will be helped. The capillaries supply food, oxygen, and hormones to every cell in the body. They also remove waste products from metabolism and disease. When the capillaries are strong, the risk of infection is greatly reduced and infections are quickly thrown off.

Male Infertility If men don’t get enough vitamin C, sperm lose some of their forward momentum. They get sticky and start clumping together, a problem doctors call agglutination. Once men start getting more vitamin C, however, sperm increase in number and quickly pick up speed.

Smokers Getting more vitamin C is particularly important for men who smoke. Studies have shown that smokers who get extra vitamin C in their diets will have healthier, more active sperm than those who don’t.

Vitamin C is also essential for healthy bone formation and people suffering from hay fever may also benefit.

Sources of Vitamin C are broccoli , a half cup contains 58 milligrams, a half cup cantaloupe contains 34 milligrams and a medium-size navel orange has 80 milligrams , which is 133% of the Daily Allowance .