Vitamin C

What is Vitamin C? ( Also known as ascorbic acid)

Vitamin C is a watersoluble vitamin. Unlike the oil soluble

vitamins such as A and E, it cannot be stored by your body so we need to get it from our diet or from supplements. Vitamin C along with Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), have been called the most essential of the "essential nutrients.

The body constantly reacts with oxygen as part of the energy producing processes of cells. As a consequence of this activity, highly reactive molecules are produced known as free radicals. These interact with other molecules within the cell, which can cause oxidative damage to proteins, membranes and genes.  This damage has been implicated in the cause of certain diseases and has an impact on the body's aging process.

The metabolic processes that produce antioxidants are controlled and influenced by an individual's genetic make-up and the extra environmental factors (such as diet, smoking and pollution) to which the body is exposed.

Vitamin c  is an antioxidant and can significantly neutralize the free radicals preventing them from damaging molecular structures and whilst the body produces them to defend itself due to changes in our lifestyles, which include more environmental pollution and less quality in our diets, mean that we are exposed to more free radicals than ever before.

One of the most significant facts about vitamin c is the role Vitamin C plays in the production of collagen. Collagen is a protein. It is the connective tissue that holds our bodies together and keeps us from falling apart.  It is found in your skin, bones, ligaments, tendons, liver, cartilage, bone marrow and blood vessels. Collagen is essential for the repair of our bodies. Without it our bodies don't heal. And without Vitamin C we don't make collagen. collagen, is a glue-like substance that binds cells together to form tissues.

Arteries, veins, an every other part of our bodies are constantly undergoing decay, repair, and replacement. To repair and replace tissue properly, our bodies must produce collagen. To form collagen, your body needs large quantities of  vitamin C. If you don't have enough to make collagen, the artery walls will form lesions of disrepair. If you took no vitamin C at all, you would get scurvy - the lesions would

rupture and you'd die of internal bleeding.

 The skin, teeth and bones also benefit from vitamin C's collagen-forming and invader-resisting properties; this vitamin contributes to the maintenance

of healthy bones, the prevention of periodontal disease and the healing of wounds. It even serves as a natural aspirin, of sorts, by combating inflammation

Antioxidants keep cholesterol from going through a process called "oxidation." Oxidation happens when oxygen reacts with cholesterol in your blood. Oxidation

causes the "bad" cholesterol (called "LDL" cholesterol) to stick to the lining of your arteries. The oxidized cholesterol can even block your arteries, so blood can't get through. This blocking is called "atherosclerosis."

Vitamin C provides the same mechanism for inhibiting the production of cholesterol as do cholesterol lowering statin drugs but without the dangerous side effects.  Statin drugs have been shown to inhibit the production of another essential nutrient called Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).  Decreased levels of CoQ10 result in significant muscle myopathy(wasting away). And since the heart is a muscle, statin drugs have been linked to Congestive Heart Failure (CHF).

Vitamin C has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of Alzheimer's when taken with Vitamin E and cut your chances of having a stroke.

Vitamin c protects the immune system and aids in the manufacture of white cells, which destroy bacteria and viruses.  

It is believed that high doses of vitamin c given intravenously (combined with intravenous hydrogen) kill cancer cells.

Vitamins and Supplements- Vitamin A.

Vitamin B12.

Vitamin D.

Vitamin E.

Vitamin K.

Children's Vitamins.

Eye Vitamins.

Multivitamin.

Health and Personal Care