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WHAT IS VITAMIN C AND HOW DOES VITAMIN C WORKS

Vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient that serves as a stimulant in the body, inducing and stimulating a variety of required chemical reactions. It also helps to detoxify natural cell metabolism, waste products and acts as an antioxidant. As such, vitamin C serves as a host habitat for unstable electrons (free radicals) ejected during normal molecular activity. Without antioxidants, these radicals will simply circulate easily throughout the body, triggering conditions such as asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, and as an antioxidant, one of the key purposes of vitamin C is to preserve the basic functions of the body.

Normal cellular functions, as well as environmental damage such as ultraviolet light and pollutants, produce free radicals in the skin, and in eradicating these free radicals, vitamin C protects the skin, manages to keep it clean and increases the visible signs of aging.

As stated in a 2003 study in the American University Journal of Nutrition, “Vitamin C in humans must be consumed regularly for  healthy sustainability.” Beyond mere sustainability, the same research indicates that antioxidants such as vitamin C can prevent “human diseases such as atherosclerosis and cancer that may arise partly as a consequence of oxidant damage to tissue injury.” Consumers of diets rich in vitamin C are reported to be at lower risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. In other words, the regular consumption of vitamin C is certainly healthy for you.

Further research shows vitamin C is essential for the growth and repair of tissue all over the body. Vitamin C helps heal wounds and repair and maintain healthy bones, teeth, skin and cartilage – a type of firm tissue that covers the bones.

As an antioxidant, vitamin C fights free radicals in the body, which may help prevent or delay certain cancers and heart disease and promote healthy aging. Vitamin C from supplements often tends to reduce the likelihood of cartilage deterioration in people with osteoarthritis.

Sources of vitamin C are abundant and go well beyond the ever-popular citrus or orange juice. This essential nutrient is provided by a number of fruits and vegetables. Sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, green and red bell peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts and kiwifruit, among others. You can enjoy these foods raw or cooked, but it’s important to note that fruits and vegetables lose vitamin C when heated or stored for a long time. To get the most out of the nutrient, eat them as soon as possible

To understand how vitamin C works take a considerable amount of vitamin C daily. Many prevention regimens can be followed for good health, which mainly includes changes in diet and lifestyle.

Good workout and diet are the first steps that need to be done to resolve some potential health problems. When it comes to healthy eating, one magical elixir that has always been positive for many years is taking vitamin C-rich diets.

Vitamin C has been highly regarded by many cultures for thousands of years, plenty of time to make a note of its positive effects on health, but now there is evidence that daily intake of vitamin C truly does help you live a longer, better life.

How vitamin c helps immune system

Vitamin C is a remarkably versatile nutrient. It plays a significant role in a wide range of different systems and processes throughout your body, from helping repair wounds and injuries to strengthening the adrenals when you’re under stress.

Vitamin C plays a huge part in many different functions. However, this vitamin is best known as the immunity superstar–and there is a good reason for the association. Vitamin C–has been shown to support a large number of immune mechanisms in your body. For instance, the white blood cell, which is an important part of your immune system, helps fight off illness-causing viruses and bacteria in a different way with Vitamin C, helping to stimulate both the production and function of many of these types of white blood cells. It also helps the body to produce important antibodies: proteins that bind invading microbes to neutralize them.

Vitamin C’s powerful antioxidant properties help protect certain white blood cells from the toxic compounds they produce in their fight against pathogens. In other words, Vitamin C is an essential nutrient for a healthy immune system response. However, your immune system isn’t a simple set of cells functioning in isolation from anything else. Instead, it’s a complex network of interconnected organs, cells and processes.

What’s more, several of your body’s other functions affect how well your immune system can do its job, and Vitamin C plays a role in several of these functions too. For example, your skin and mucous membranes are your body’s first line of defences.

A cut or puncture in your skin can become a gateway for infection-causing bacteria, and Vitamin C helps your body produce collagen – a key protein in skin, and one you need for proper wound healing. Likewise, the adrenal glands have a vital function to play in the body’s reaction to stress. They use a significant amount of Vitamin C every time a stress response is triggered. This is why Vitamin C is key for a strong and well-functioning immune.

Here’s how it helps the immune system:

#1: Vitamin C supports the cellular immune response.

There are two main ways the body can respond to a pathogen: immunity from antibodies and cellular immunity. The cell-mediated response refers to the activation of macrophages, natural killer cells, and antigen-specific T-lymphocytes that attack anything that is perceived as a foreign agent.

#2: Vitamin C is mainly found in white blood cells.

Some of these primary cells of the immune system have levels of vitamin C up to 80 times higher than those found in the plasma.

#3: Vitamin C inhibits the production of neuraminidase.

Some pathogenic viruses and bacteria create neuraminidase, an enzyme that keeps them from being trapped in the mucus, one of the natural lines of body defences. By inhibiting neuraminidase, vitamin C helps to optimize this defences mechanism of the body.

#4: Vitamin C supports the production of interferons.

Interferons are produced when the presence of pathogens is detected. They facilitate the ability of cells to initiate protective cellular defences.

In general, good antibody function is important for a healthy immune system and all these are provided using vitamin C

How vitamin c works on skin

Every year, there is a new, revolutionary ingredient that promises to be the next Holy Grail in skin care products, but vitamin C has taken on its quality and consistency. Take a moment to stroll down the cosmetics lane, and you’ll find almost every single commodity appearing to have vitamin C. Vitamin C is good for your skin (and not just because your face looks brighter when you take it).

The benefits of vitamin C to your skin are endless, resulting in a brighter, more youthful-looking face.

As we are advised to take vitamin C supplements while we are ill to improve our immune system, it is prudent to use topical vitamin C serum every day to strengthen your skin and build its resistance against free radicals and signs of aging.

Vitamin C is an effective skincare ingredient that is shown to be effective in the following areas:

  • Protects against environmental stressors: As a result of sun damage and environmental stressors, exposure and oxidative damage can interfere with your DNA, leading to skin structure changes, including wrinkles and other signs of aging. Research has shown that using topical formulas rich in vitamin C benefits your skin by reversing those aging effects
  •  Promotes collagen production: Vitamin C also plays an important role in collagen synthesis. Collagen gives our skin support and structure, and as it degrades with age, we begin to notice wrinkles and lines. Vitamin C is a necessary cofactor for building collagen bundles, without which this process halts.
  • Lightens brown spots: Vitamin C is also helpful in lightening unwanted brown spots or decreasing brown discoloration by blocking the pathway of pigment synthesis, according to Herrmann.

Which type of vitamin C benefits skin?

Not all vitamin C is created equal. Due to differences in pH balances, some vitamin C formulations benefit your skin more than others. Always use vitamin C that’s categorized as an L-ascorbic acid because it’s the purest and most stable and works for all skin types.

However, if your skin is more sensitive, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate is a better option because it’s fatty-acid derived. Many other common names you’ll find include ascorbyl palmitate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, and sodium ascorbyl phosphate. Any of these forms of vitamin C are water-soluble nutrients with vast antioxidant properties that also synthesize collagen, aid in vascular circulation, protect and repair damaged epidermal cells, and guard against photoaging and hyperpigmentation.

The benefit of topically administered vitamin C to the skin is far superior to the benefit of oral administration. If you want your face to enjoy vitamin C’s advantages, brighten up a dark complexion and remove sunspots, get used to using a vitamin C-packed serum every day.

Vitamin C is the gold standard of skincare ingredients, especially when formulated with ferulic acid, and vitamin E, it brightens your skin, improves signs of wrinkles, and provides protection from environmental stressors for at least 72 hours.

How vitamin c boost immune system

Evidence suggests that nutritional deficiencies may weaken our immune system and make us more vulnerable to infections. A more practical illustration is the fear around the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic [coronavirus] – there seems to be little we’re advised to do in-between washing our hands daily and insulating ourselves with immune boosters like vitamin C because another way we can help put ourselves in the best position to avoid the virus – and any other cold and flu viruses – is through our diet.

Our immune system remains largely unclear to scientists. But we do know it’s a complex, interconnected system that incorporates many organs and functions. We need to be sure that we eat enough; our digestive systems require energy –and the right nutrients–to function to their maximum capacity.

Our immune systems require enough nutrients -specifically vitamin C – to produce immune cells that act as building blocks, and our body enzymes also need vitamins and minerals to work effectively.

This means that we need to make sure that we eat all of our body’s needs for macronutrients, especially vitamin C, among several other minerals, including vitamin D, as well as B6, B12 and folate, zinc, copper, iron and selenium, as well as essential amino and essential fatty acids.

The immune system is made up of two-component systems. The innate immune system, which is what viruses first come up against when they invade our bodies – this system flushing out the invading cells, before the second system, the adaptive system, targets pathogens the body has already had contact with to create memory cells of new ones, so the body can fight them off if they dare to return in future.

This explains why most of us are only going to contract chickenpox once. Unfortunately for us, many pathogens, such as flu viruses and common colds, mutate and adapt to adverse changes, confusing cell memories and successfully infecting us. Thankfully, our lifestyle habits and diets are known to affect our immune systems’ strength through a number of mechanisms.

Vitamin C is one of the best immune-enhancing nutrients due to its high content of polyphenols, particularly flavonoids.

Studies have found that eating vitamin C reduces inflammation, oxidative stress and immune dysfunction in the body due to hectic daily routine. But to maintain these benefits, there must be consistency, rather than a quick fix of smoothies and orange juices in the run-up to flu season. Hence, one of the ways you can stay fighting fit is to stock up on vitamin-full fruits and vegetables. Like chicken soup, vitamin C is one of the most sought-after remedies to boost the body immune system

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