Vitamin C Deficiency

Vitamin C is essential for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of the body. It helps the body make collagen, an important protein used to make skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. Vitamin C is essential for healing wounds, and for repairing and maintaining bones and teeth.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant, along with vitamin E, beta-carotene, and many other plant-based nutrients. Antioxidants block some of the damage caused by free radicals, which occur naturally when our bodies transform food into energy. The build-up of free radicals over time may be largely responsible for the aging process and can contribute to the development of health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and arthritis.

Smoking cigarettes lowers the amount of vitamin C in the body, so smokers are at a higher risk of deficiency. Signs of vitamin deficiency include dry and splitting hair, gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) and bleeding gums, rough, dry and scaly skin, decreased wound-healing rate, easy bruising, nosebleeds and a decreased ability to ward off infection. A severe form of vitamin C deficiency is known as scurvy.

Low levels of vitamin C have been associated with a number of conditions, including high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, stroke, some cancers, and atherosclerosis (the build-up plaque in blood vessels that can lead to heart attack and stroke). Getting enough vitamin C from your diet (by eating lots of fruit and vegetables) may help reduce the risk of developing some of these conditions.

A sufficient intake of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is important as it helps the body to

• make collagen, an important protein in skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels

• grow and repair tissues

• heal wounds

• repair and maintain bones and teeth

• synthesize neurotransmitters

• block some of the damage caused by free radicals by working as an antioxidant along with vitamin E, beta-carotene and many other plant-based nutrients. This damage can contribute to the aging process and the development of cancer, heart disease and arthritis

• the protection of cell constituents from oxidative damage

• normal collagen formation and the normal function of bones, teeth, cartilage, gums, skin and blood vessels

• the increase of non-heme iron absorption

• the normal function of the nervous system

• a normal function of the immune system

• normal energy-yielding metabolism

• the maintenance of the normal function of the immune system during and after intense physical exercise.

Conditions / Diseases Risk

Heart disease : Results of scientific studies on whether vitamin C is helpful for preventing heart attack or stroke are mixed. Vitamin C was not shown to lower cholesterol levels or to reduce the overall risk of heart attack, but some evidence suggests that it may help protect arteries against damage (atherosclerosis) by acting as an antioxidant.

High blood pressure : Population studies suggest that people who eat foods rich in antioxidants, including vitamin C, have a lower risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) than people who have poorer diets.

Cancer : Results of many population studies suggest that eating foods rich in vitamin C may be associated with lower rates of cancer, including lung, stomach and possibly breast cancer. As these foods contain not only vitamin C but also many beneficial micronutrients and antioxidants, it is impossible to say for certain that vitamin C protects against cancer.

Arthritis : Vitamin C is essential for the body to make collagen, which is a part of normal cartilage. Cartilage is destroyed in osteoarthritis, putting pressure on bones and joints. Research suggests that free radicals may also be involved in the destruction of cartilage, and that antioxidants such as vitamin C may limit these damaging effects. There is some evidence that people who eat diets rich in vitamin C are less likely to be diagnosed with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

Age-related eye diseases : Vitamin C appears to work with other antioxidants, including beta-carotene and vitamin E, to protect the eyes against developing disorders such as cataracts and macular degeneration (AMD), the leading causes of legal blindness in people over 55. The people who seem to benefit are those with advanced age-related eye diseases.

Other disorders : Although the information is limited, studies suggest that vitamin C may also be helpful for boosting immune system functions, maintaining healthy gums, reducing effects of sun exposure (sunburn or redness), healing burns and wounds, reducing symptoms of exercise-induced asthma, and inhibiting the absorption of toxic lead.

Diabetes : Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death in individuals with diabetes. Evidence that diabetes is a condition of increased free radical activity led to the hypothesis that higher intakes of antioxidant nutrients such as vitamin C could help decrease heart disease risk in diabetic individuals. To date, trials have not proven that supplementation with vitamin C is beneficial in treating (or preventing) heart disease in individuals with diabetes.

Common cold : Studies have shown that taking vitamin C supplements regularly (not just at the beginning of a cold) leads to a small reduction in the duration of a cold (about 1 day). In studies examining people exercising in extreme environments (athletes such as skiers and marathon runners), vitamin C seemed to reduce the risk of getting a cold.

Deficiency

Although serious deficiencies are rare in industrialized countries, some evidence suggests that many people may be mildly deficient in vitamin C.

Smoking cigarettes lowers the amount of vitamin C in the body, so smokers are more at risk of deficiency.

Signs of vitamin deficiency include dry and splitting hair, inflammation of the gums, bleeding gums, rough, dry and scaly skin, decreased wound-healing rate, easy bruising, nosebleeds, and a decreased ability to ward off infection.

A severe form of vitamin C deficiency is known as scurvy.

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