The health benefits of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient your body needs to complete many of its most important functions. Your body does not make vitamin C on its own, so you need to ensure that you get enough of it in your diet every day. Luckily, there are plenty of good food sources for vitamin C out there!

Essential for your skin and can help prevent wrinkles.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps reduce damage to skin cells. This can help prevent wrinkles and other signs of aging, including dark circles under the eyes. As an added bonus, vitamin C can also help fade scars or discoloration from acne or burns by increasing collagen production and cell turnover in damaged areas by stimulating new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis). Because vitamin C is water-soluble, it's not stored in your body for long periods; you need to consume enough daily for regular collagen production and a healthy complexion.

Supporting your immune system.

As an antioxidant, it helps to protect the body from free radicals. It can also help to repair damaged cells and tissues in the body. Winter time brings about the obvious colds and sniffles, not to mention the covid is still amongst us. One of the best ways to mitigate potential health hazards at this time of year (and always actually) is to give your immune system all the help you can. Vitamin C is one of the universal helpers when it comes to this. Also, ginger and turmeric are good immune boosters too and you know where you can find the most powerful turmeric tonic around? Yup, right here with Little Elephant. 

Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron.

You might be wondering how vitamin C can help prevent iron deficiency – after all, isn't it iron that will reduce the risk of iron deficiency? 

Vitamin C plays an important role in iron absorption and helps to convert the plant-based sources that are hard to absorb, known as non-heme iron, into a more bioavailable form.  

Studies have found that consuming vitamin C with a meal may be able to improve iron absorption by 67% - which is especially important for those on a plant-based diet.  

Vitamin C may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Vitamin C may also help lower your risk of having heart disease or stroke by lowering cholesterol levels in the blood and reducing inflammation in the arteries. A large study done with over 40,000 men found that those who took a daily dose of 500 mg or more had a 32% lower risk of suffering from heart attacks than those who took less than 250 mg daily. Another study found that people taking large doses every day had a 29% lower rate of death due to cardiovascular disease over 15 years compared with those taking no supplements at all!

Remember to get enough vitamin C daily, either through foods like citrus fruits or supplements.

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that the body can't store. So it's essential to get enough vitamin C every day through your diet or by taking a supplement if you eat less than five servings of fruit and vegetables daily.

Foods High in Vitamin C

Your first port of call should always be your diet when it comes to ensuring you're getting enough vitamins and minerals. Some of the best foods that are high in vitamin C include: 

• Citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, and grapefruits are all excellent choices) 
• Kiwi  
• Red peppers  
• Broccoli  
• Berries  
• Leafy greens such as kale and spinach  
• Papaya  
• Tomatoes

Conclusion

The moral of the story is: that we all need vitamin C. You should try to ensure your diet includes at least some vitamin C so your body can function normally and stay healthy. If you aren't getting enough vitamin c in your diet, consider taking a daily vita C supplement to compensate for any deficiency.