It’s a common belief that getting extra Vitamin C when feeling ill can help avoid additional complications of your illness. Vitamin C is known for its immune system benefits, but did you know Vitamin C is essential in your daily diet? Vitamin C not only can help you feel better when fighting off a cold, but can help your immune system be stronger each day as well as help your body in many different ways. Here are some of the benefits of Vitamin C:
- Vitamin C has been proven to be beneficial to your entire immune system. Getting the required about of Vitamin C every day can help to improve your immune system and allow it to better work at fending off disease and illnesses. If you are taking adequate amounts of Vitamin C before you are sick you may just not pick up that cold that’s been going around. If you do get sick, Vitamin C has been shown to help you fight off the illness faster with fewer complications.
- New research is finding that Vitamin C can be very beneficial to cardiac health. It has been shown to help improve blood pressure, lower inflammation levels, and protect the heart again arthrosclerosis as Vitamin C may help to reduce the occurrence of plaque build-up.
- For many years, it has been shown that getting enough Vitamin C is essential for prenatal health. Not only does it help an expectant mother to ward off illness, it can help to reduce the effects of morning sickness. Getting enough Vitamin C is also vital for the development of the unborn baby.
- Vitamin C has recently been shown to provide benefits to the skin. The ascorbic acid found in Vitamin C is used by your body to produce collagen, and essential protein that aids in giving the skin its needed elasticity. Without Vitamin C, collagen is not produced at an effective level and your skin will begin to look more wrinkled as well as be susceptible to other problems and conditions.
- The lenses of your eyes require Vitamin C as well. Eye diseases such as cataracts have been linked to Vitamin C deficiencies. The addition of additional Vitamin C in the diet has been shown to help improve cataract conditions by providing additional blood flow to the eyes.
- A little known benefit is that Vitamin C can actually allow your body to better deal with stress. The lack of Vitamin C can often contribute to feeling of fatigue and depression. In studies they have shown that adding Vitamin C to the diet can help to elevate mood as well as energy levels.
It’s easy to add Vitamin C to your diet. You can get Vitamin C in many different ways. Dietary options for getting vitamin C include raw citrus fruits, broccoli, peppers, cantaloupe, and even tomato juice. If you have a hard time trying to add Vitamin C through eating fruits you can add a Vitamin C supplement to your diet by taking a variety of Vitamin C pills or through a multi-vitamin. Enjoy the most from the benefits of Vitamin C by adding fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet.