A recent study published in Seminars in Preventive and Alternative Medicine revealed a growing list of benefits of vitamin C.
Vitamin C is a safe and effective nutrient. It is thought to help prevent more serious complications. It may not actually be the cure for the common cold, although the benefits of vitamin C may include protection against cardiovascular disease, immune system deficiencies, eye disease, prenatal health problems, and even skin wrinkling.
Study researcher Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan sais that the more we study vitamin C, the better our understanding of how diverse it is in protecting our health, from cardiovascular, cancer, stroke, eye health [and] immunity to living longer. Vitamin C has received a great deal of attention, and with good reason. Higher blood levels of vitamin C may be the ideal nutrition marker for overall health.
How Much Vitamin C Is Enough?
It is just not practical for most people to consume the required servings of fruits and vegetables needed on a consistent basis, whereas taking a once-daily supplement is safe, effective, and easy to do,” Moyad says. He also notes that only 10% to 20% of adults get the recommended nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
Most of the studies Moyad and his colleagues examined used 500 daily milligrams of vitamin C to achieve health results. That’s much higher than the RDA of 75-90 mg per day for adults. Moyad says that you may need to take a dietary supplement of vitamin C to gain all the benefits, unless you can eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. He suggests taking 500 mg per day, in addition to eating five servings of fruits and vegetables.
