Vitamin C

 

Fruits and vegetables such as oranges, strawberries, papayas, green peppers, broccoli and tomatoes are great sources of vitamin C.  

Why is vitamin C so essential to our health?  In its active form of ascorbic acid it helps keep us healthy by:

*Absorbing iron from plant sources and balances our iron stores

*High antioxidant protection from free radicals.

*Helps in healing wounds.

*Most importantly it boosts our immune system, which we really need now with Covid.

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, which means you can easily absorb it from food sources, but you can't store it.  You need to get it every day.  The RDA is 90 mg for males and 70 mg for women.  Which amounts to about an orange a day.  But the optimum level should be around 200 mg per day.  Our body sucks up every bit of 200 mg, but then blocks any further absorption.  Any amount over that just gets peed and pooped out to maintain proper blood levels.  So just forget about taking a 1000 mg vitamin C supplement as it gets flushed down the drain.

A common misconception is that taking high amounts of vitamin C will treat and cure the common cold.  According to recent studies that is not true.  By keeping the right amount of vitamin C in our bodies it will keep our immune system strong enough to prevent or lessen the effects of a common cold.

Vitamin C helps your body's T cells fight infection. (T cells are part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow.) T cells defend your body by killing infected cells and calling B cells to action.  By using antibodies B cells identify pathogens and mark cells for death.

Vitamin C helps to produce more immune cells (natural killer cells) which attack infected cells and tumors more efficiently.  Its antioxidant properties helps prevent cell damage and dying during inflammation from fighting off infection.

By consuming a plant-based diet we will not have a problem getting enough Vitamin C.

Go have an orange!

Have a great week.

Be kind.

WEAR YOUR MASK

Judd