If there ever was a vitamin that I would say is the most important for the human body it would have to be vitamin C!
Vitamin C was isolated in 1928, which made it much easier to get your daily vitamin C. Prior to this you had to eat food with C in it every day because vitamin C is water-soluble meaning it is not stored or produced in the human body.
Vitamin C is So Important That If You Don’t Get Enough of It You Will Die!
The British Navy hundreds of years ago found this out after thousands of sailors died. So back in 1867 the merchant shipping act required ships of the Royal Navy and merchant ships issue a lime a day to sailors to prevent scurvy.
At first, doctors thought it was the acid in the limes, but later they found it was vitamin C.
Signs of Vitamin C Deficiency
Dry and splitting hair
Nosebleeds
Decreased wound healing rate
Bleeding gums
Rough dry or scaly skin
Gingivitis ( inflammation of your gums )
Decreased ability to ward off infection
Easy bruising
The R.D.A. ( recommended dietary allowance ) of
vitamin C is 40 to 60 mg per day
40 to 60 mg of Vitamin C is Sufficient to Prevent Scurvy.
Vitamin C is an antioxidant in other words it slows down the damage that can be caused by the effects of oxygen in your body.
It fights infection, and helps the body to absorb iron and protects the body from free radicals, it also works with vitamin A and E as they are also antioxidants. It also prevents food and beverages from spoiling caused by oxygen.
Vitamin C helps enzymes react better, it also helps your body produce collagen. Carnitine which helps your body turn fat into energy. It maintains healthy bones and teeth and may play a role in protecting heart health.
Early Symptoms of Vitamin C Deficiency
Fatigue, loss of appetite, drowsiness, insomnia, feeling run down, irritability and low resistance to infections and a general state of mental and physical weakness.
Linus Pauling
Then there is Linus Pauling 1901 – 1994, who was the leading chemist in the last century! The New Scientist magazine ranked him as one of the 20 greatest scientists to ever live.
He ingested as much as 12,000 mg. of vitamin C a day and as much as 40,000 mg. at the onset of a cold.
He won 2 unshared Nobel Prizes, one in chemistry in 1954 and a Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 and he almost won a third but Watson and Crick narrowly beat him with the discovery of the structure of DNA. Started the Linus Pauling institute of Science in 1973 until 1995. He had a lot of controversy on the subject of vitamin C.
His biggest donor was Hoffman-la-Roche the pharmaceutical giant that produces most of the world’s vitamin C. So, there is a lot of people that are for and against Linus Pauling.
Doctor Mercola has a lot of good things to say about Linus Pauling and Vitamin C and its healing powers. Like the case of the man who contracted swine flu, and was brought back from the brink of death using a combination of IV and oral vitamin C .
Personally 30 years ago or more, I read about Linus Pauling and tried taking up to 10,000 mg of vitamin C a day and it was not good for me, several times at this level of dosage I almost wet my pants. So, I lowered my dosage and it was OK. Presently I take 1,000 mg a day preferably time release. What is your comfort level?
According to Doctor Andrew Saul editor of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service if everyone were to take 500 mg of vitamin C per day ( the dose required to reach a healthy level of 80 umol/L concentration of vitamin C in your body ) an estimated 226,000 lives could be spared each year
If you don’t want to take vitamin C in pill form and want to get it naturally here is a list of some popular fruits and vegetables and their vitamin C content.
Fruits with Vitamin C
1 large apple 3 1/4 inches in diameter 10.3 mg
1 cup of orange sections 95.8
1 small 6 inch banana 8.8
1 cup of pineapple chunks 78.9
1 cup of blueberries 14.4
1 cup of lemon sections 112.4
1 cup of whole strawberries 84.7
1 cup of grapes 3.7
1 cup of mango pieces 60.1
1 cup of sliced kiwi 166.9
1 cup of avocado cubes 15
Vegetables with Vitamin C
1 head of green leaf lettuce 33.1 mg
1 cup of chopped cabbage 32.6
1 cup of chopped onions 11.8
1 cup of chopped broccoli 81.2
1 cup of diced potatoes 29.6
1 cup of cauliflower 1/2 inch pieces 51.6
1 cup of radish slices 17.2
So, in closing, I think everyone should take at least 500 mg of vitamin C per day, some by pill form and naturally the choice is yours.
8 thoughts on “The Most Important Vitamin”
Looks like I need to up my vitamin C game big time! I struggle with epic allergies year round and I’m pretty sure my doctor has told me to make sure my diet is rich with vitamin C. I stay active but I’m not very good at adhering to strict diets, so it’s always been tough for me to get perfectly portioned nutrients naturally. Is there any downside to getting my daily value in pill form as opposed to natural means like fruits and vegetables?
Not really vitamin c or ascorbic acid it’s basically the same . People today have such active life styles and usually find it hard to get the right amount of vitamins needed everyday sp taking supplements is helpful in maintaining good health, just like quinine was synthesized by the British from a plant off the coast of India for curing malaria, caused by the anopheles mosquito.
So it’s always good to get vitamins from natural sources and vitamin pills from good sources also without too many fillers as natural as possible .
As we get older our bodies stop producing certain enzymes etc.so of you want to stay healthy eat your vitamins on a regular basis , the human body is an amazing machine !
Try a tablespoon of honey made from bees as close to where you live . This can sometimes help allergies or get tested by a naturopathic doctor with I believe it’s a vega tester for foods you don’t digest well and you will be amazed how good u will feel by eliminating certain foods , I have tried it and it works . All the best !
Wow, this is so much great information about Vitamin c.I eat a lot of onion and cauliflower. It looks like they contain quite a bit of vitamin C. I like the fact you provided a list of fruits that have vitamin c. This is very helpful. I will start incorporate some of this fruits in my diet since vitamin c offers so many health benefits. Thank you so much for the awesome content.
Hi, many thanks for this insightful post on vitamin C, it being the most important vitamin for the body and in 1928 it being made available for daily use. Its good to know that vitamin C works with other antioxidants like vitamins A & E. This is a reminder to us to take our vitamin C when we stat feeling loss of energy, plus loss of appetite and have low resistance to infections. We also have to take serious our intake of fruits like apples, oranges and bananas. Kudos to Linus Pauling
yes vitamin c is so good and deliscious in many fruits ! Many things have been synthesized like quinine for malaria. I still like to get c from natural sources as much as possible .
Vitamin C is a real important vitamin for good health. I just spend the weekend picking rosehips to make rosehip syrup and jam. I do this every year for our winter vitamin C. One tiny rosehip contains the same amount of vitamin C as 10 oranges. So it doesn’t take much syrup may a tablespoon a day for good health.
Looks like I need to up my vitamin C game big time! I struggle with epic allergies year round and I’m pretty sure my doctor has told me to make sure my diet is rich with vitamin C. I stay active but I’m not very good at adhering to strict diets, so it’s always been tough for me to get perfectly portioned nutrients naturally. Is there any downside to getting my daily value in pill form as opposed to natural means like fruits and vegetables?
Not really vitamin c or ascorbic acid it’s basically the same . People today have such active life styles and usually find it hard to get the right amount of vitamins needed everyday sp taking supplements is helpful in maintaining good health, just like quinine was synthesized by the British from a plant off the coast of India for curing malaria, caused by the anopheles mosquito.
So it’s always good to get vitamins from natural sources and vitamin pills from good sources also without too many fillers as natural as possible .
As we get older our bodies stop producing certain enzymes etc.so of you want to stay healthy eat your vitamins on a regular basis , the human body is an amazing machine !
Try a tablespoon of honey made from bees as close to where you live . This can sometimes help allergies or get tested by a naturopathic doctor with I believe it’s a vega tester for foods you don’t digest well and you will be amazed how good u will feel by eliminating certain foods , I have tried it and it works . All the best !
Wow, this is so much great information about Vitamin c.I eat a lot of onion and cauliflower. It looks like they contain quite a bit of vitamin C. I like the fact you provided a list of fruits that have vitamin c. This is very helpful. I will start incorporate some of this fruits in my diet since vitamin c offers so many health benefits. Thank you so much for the awesome content.
yes onions are real good they also contain selenium which is supposed to make u live longer ! But don’t kiss anybody right after ha ha
Hi, many thanks for this insightful post on vitamin C, it being the most important vitamin for the body and in 1928 it being made available for daily use. Its good to know that vitamin C works with other antioxidants like vitamins A & E. This is a reminder to us to take our vitamin C when we stat feeling loss of energy, plus loss of appetite and have low resistance to infections. We also have to take serious our intake of fruits like apples, oranges and bananas. Kudos to Linus Pauling
yes vitamin c is so good and deliscious in many fruits ! Many things have been synthesized like quinine for malaria. I still like to get c from natural sources as much as possible .
Vitamin C is a real important vitamin for good health. I just spend the weekend picking rosehips to make rosehip syrup and jam. I do this every year for our winter vitamin C. One tiny rosehip contains the same amount of vitamin C as 10 oranges. So it doesn’t take much syrup may a tablespoon a day for good health.
yes rosehips are great that’s why you can find them added to vitamin c. In some brands !