Vitamin C is found in most fruits and vegetables, but is found in especially high concentrations in citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits. Vitamin C is vital to cell repair. It attaches to collagen to help repair and grow skin cells. It is important in repairing the lining of capillaries in the blood supply system.
If a body goes without vitamin C for long periods, 40 to 60 days, it will begin to break down. This is because the body ceases to repair itself. This disease, or rather deficiency, is classically called scurvy. It was an especially deadly problem in the days of the age of sail, when expeditions went to sea for long periods without an adequate supply of fresh vegetative matter. Magellan's crew, which circumnavigated the globe in the early 1500s, for example suffered an 80 percent mortality rate. The symptoms of scurvy include the bursting of capillaries, opening of old wounds, and the degradation of all the bodies functions, which can result in the loss of teeth and hair in the short run, and insanity and death in the long run.
Getting enough vitamin C will prevent scurvy. Another advantage of getting sufficient amounts of vitamin C is that it is an antioxidant. This means that it acts to interfere with free radicals in the body. Free radicals can come from smoking or pollutants in the air, but are in the main a natural result of the body's own energy consuming process known as the ATP-ADP cycle. Oxygen molecules with negative ions are freed. They want to combine with other molecules to add their extra electrons. The problem is that they end up stealing away important parts of the cell's structure, including within the DNA. Vitamin C, as an anti-oxidant, interferes with this process. Vitamin C will combine with the free radical instead, and it will get passed out of the body.
It is important to remember that Vitamin C is water soluble and is not stored by the body. It needs to be taken in every day. To get vitamin C, simply consume sufficient quantities of fruits and vegetables. A single glass of orange juice contains 116% of the average daily requirement. It can also be gotten in supplements.
No comments:
Post a Comment