Is my intake of vitamin C sufficient?
Vitamin C is by far the most known vitamin. Whoever eats enough vegetables and fruit on a daily basis should technically speaking have a sufficient intake of vitamin C, but vitamin C is not stored in the body for a long time. How do you know if you have enough vitamin C and if you have a vitamin C deficiency? You can read all about it in this article.
What is vitamin C?
Vitamin C is also known by experts as ascorbic acid. The vitamin dissolves in water is a very known vitamin not just in the year 2020. As early as the 16th century, seafarers learned that eating fresh vegetables and citrus fruits helped them against scurvy: research showed later on that a vitamin C deficiency leads to scurvy. For people older than 14, a daily vitamin C intake of 75 milligrams is recommended by the Nutrition Center.
What can you find vitamin C in?
Vitamin C is primarily found in healthy foods such as vegetables and fruit. Especially certain types of cabbage, pepper, citrus fruit, strawberries, berries and kiwis contain a lot of vitamin C. Are you a true vitamin C hunter? Eat a lot of Brussels sprouts. A serving spoon (70 gr) of Brussels sprouts gives you an average of 92 milligrams of vitamin C. A raw half of pepper (90 milligrams) or one orange (66 milligrams) quickly gives you a sufficient quantity.
Watch out when cooking with vitamin C
Due to the fact that vitamin C dissolves in water, caution is advised when cooking vegetables. It is advisable not to let vegetables with vitamin C cook too long in a little bit of water. It is best not to cut vegetables too small and do not place it in the sun beforehand. This allows vegetables to keep most of the vitamin.
Effect of vitamin C
A sufficient intake of vitamin C is good for your body in several ways:
- One of the most important characteristics is the fact that vitamin C maintains your body’s resistance
- The vitamin regulates the intake of iron in the body
- Vitamin C protects the body cells through its antioxidant function
- Vitamin C is necessary for the formation of connective tissue
How do I recognize a vitamin C deficiency?
People with a vitamin C deficiency can recognize this in several ways. Firstly, the resistance strongly declines as a result of which people can get sick faster, such as a catching a cold or flu. Another way to recognize the vitamin C deficiency is the fact that wounds heal considerably slower.
Vitamin C in excess
In addition to a deficiency of this vitamin, you can also take too much vitamin C. Your body will usually excrete this excess of vitamin C through the urine. Whoever has too much of an intake of vitamin C structurally speaking, can get certain complaints such as abdominal discomforts and diarrhea. Previously, it had also been thought that too much vitamin C could cause kidney stones. However, research has never proven this.
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