Vitamin C Can Help You Lead a Long and Healthy Life

Vitamins are essential to life and are the elements that regulate metabolism and assist the biochemical processes that release energy from digested food.  The particular benefits of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) are that it helps repair and grow tissue, assist the function of the adrenal glands, maintain healthy gums, and enhance the immune system.  It also protects against blood clotting, bruising, and promotes the healing of wounds.  A key function of vitamin C is that it is an antioxidant and a key weapon in the fight to protect the body against the free radicals that can lead to cancer and other debilitating diseases.
 
A deficiency of vitamin C can lead to a host of health problems, including scurvy, with its accompanying symptoms of fatigue, bleeding gums, and swollen extremities, and increased susceptibility to diseases.
 
Natural sources of vitamin C are berries, citrus fruits, and green vegetable.  It is also found in a great number of herbs, such as alfalfa, cayenne, peppermint, and parsley, and, of course, in supplements.  In our polluted and stress-filled world, it is no longer safe to assume that we can fill all our nutritional requirements with a healthy diet.  As well, alcohol, smoking, antibiotics, anticoagulants, steroids, and oral contraceptives reduce the absorption of vitamin C, and because it is water soluble, our bodies eliminate excess amounts in urine.  If you take only one supplement, vitamin C is the one to choose and the only way to ensure you are receiving sufficient amounts of it for good health.