Like many nutrients, the importance of vitamin C has been established from the observation of the symptoms that its deficiency causes.

Does sailor’s disease mean anything to you? Maybe scurvy will speak to you a little more…

Instead of going into the inelegant details of the effects of a deficiency, let’s take advantage of the spotlight it has brought to this vitamin to recall its essential functions.

What are the benefits of vitamin C?
Introducing Vitamin C
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, belongs to the family of water-soluble vitamins being, by definition, soluble in water and therefore evacuated by the kidneys. Stated clearly, they are not stored in the body and must be subject to a controlled intake.

But what are the sources?

Hint: the sailors saw their condition improve when oranges and lemons were added to their diet.

Most fruits and vegetables contain it with, for best examples, guava, red pepper, green pepper, papaya, kiwi and, you will have understood it, citrus fruits.

But we will come back to this later.

In addition to its importance in the prevention of scurvy, vitamin C has a plethora of essential functions for the health of the body, of which we offer you a light brief.

Tissue growth and repair
Above all, vitamin C is necessary for the growth and repair of tissues, in addition to being useful for the synthesis of collagen1, a protein that plays a crucial role in the quality of the skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and than blood vessels.

It is also involved in the healing of wounds, bones, teeth or gums.

Cardiovascular disease prevention
Then, thanks to its protective function vis-à-vis the arteries and its involvement in reducing the tightening effects of the vessels caused by the protein ET-1, vitamin C plays a role in the protection against heart disease1,2.

It also helps normalize cholesterol levels.

A powerful antioxidant
It should be added that vitamin C is a relatively powerful antioxidant, an essential element in reducing the damage caused by free radicals1, substances which:

damage DNA
contribute to the development of pathologies such as cancer or arthritis
catalyze the development of cardiovascular diseases
In addition, antioxidants are involved in reducing damage related to toxic products and pollutants (eg cigarette smoke)1.

An ally for athletes
For athletes, vitamin C helps keep testosterone levels high by keeping the cortisol to testosterone ratio low.

Also, intense and regular training accentuates the presence of free radicals of which it is a formidable enemy.