Virgin Active blog
Let’s Talk: Vitamin C
Whether it’s your newest must-have face cream or advice on how to keep colds at bay in winter, vitamin C gets a good deal of press. But what actually is it and is it all it’s cracked up to be? Let’s find out.
Key takeaways:
- Vitamin C is important for fighting infection, keeping skin healthy and protecting your cells
Vitamin C helps make collagen
You need vitamin C daily as your body can’t store it
What is vitamin C?
Vitamin C is also known as ‘ascorbic acid’ and is a water-soluble vitamin, which means it’s delivered to your body’s tissues after it’s dissolved in water. It’s a powerful antioxidant and can be found in plenty of the foods that make up a varied diet.
Adults aged 19 - 64 need around 40mg of vitamin C per day, according to the NHS. Like many vitamins, eating lots of colourful fruits and vegetables every day as part of a balanced diet means you’ll get your recommended dose of vitamin C without needing a supplement.
What does vitamin C do for your body?
Vitamin C does a lot of work at a cellular level. It protects your cells and keeps them healthy as well as helping your body to produce new white blood cells to help you fight infection and other diseases. It’s why you might have heard vitamin C being referred to for helping you ward off cold and flu symptoms.
But the feel-good benefits don’t stop there. Vitamin C is also important for keeping your skin, blood vessels, bones and cartilage healthy too. It’s also needed to make collagen – a protein found in hair, skin, nails, bones, ligaments, tendons, cartilage, blood vessels and intestines.
And, it doesn’t stop there. Taking vitamin C with a source of iron will also help the absorption of iron into your blood.
What foods are high in vitamin C?
After hearing all the benefits of vitamin C, your next question is probably: where do I get it? The good news is that you should be able to get all of your vitamin C from a balanced diet which contains some of these foods:
- Citrus fruits, including orange juice
Peppers
Strawberries
Blackcurrants
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
White potatoes
Kiwis
Tomatoes
Should you take vitamin C supplements?
With a varied diet, most people won’t need to take vitamin C supplements and, unless you’re deficient (which is quite uncommon now), there’s not much help in taking a vitamin C tablet. That’s because your body can’t store vitamin C so any excess you take from a tablet will leave your body as waste. That’s why it’s a good idea to prioritise vitamin C on a daily basis to make sure you’re hitting your 40mg quota.
What about vitamin C in skincare?
As a skin-safe and powerful antioxidant, vitamin C has become more and more popular in skincare. There are limited studies to prove that vitamin C is 100% effective, but some have shown the benefits of improving fine lines and wrinkles as well as helping to protect your skin from long-term UV damage.
FAQs
What are the benefits of vitamin C?
Vitamin C helps your body make new white blood cells for infection control and protects your existing cells. It’s also a powerful antioxidant and is important for keeping your skin, blood vessels, bones and cartilage healthy. Your body needs vitamin C to make collagen, hormones and other vitamins, like vitamin E.
Does vitamin C prevent colds?
Vitamin C helps your body make new white blood cells which are responsible for fighting and controlling infection in your body. That said, vitamin C is not a foolproof way to stop colds. There’s mixed evidence on how effective vitamin C is at controlling your body’s response to cold and flu symptoms.
How much vitamin C should I take per day?
According to the NHS, adults aged 19 - 64 should aim for around 40mg of vitamin C per day. Most, if not all, of the vitamin C that your body needs can be found in eating the rainbow.
Should I take vitamin C supplements?
Vitamin C supplements may be helpful if you know that you’re vitamin C deficient. Because your body can’t store vitamin C, trying to create a stockpile through supplements isn’t a great solution. Your best option is to aim for 40mg of vitamin C every single day.
What foods are high in vitamin C?
Citrus fruits, peppers, tomatoes, white potatoes, strawberries, kiwis and brussel sprouts.
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