Vitamin C is a vital antioxidant needed for a healthy immune system and for the growth and repair of tissues in all different areas of your body. Here, the wellness experts at Supplement Guru who have just released SHIELD, a vitamin C enriched food supplement, share the top six benefits of vitamin C and how you can get your daily dose.
1. Helps to boost immunity
Whenever you feel under the weather, the first thing you do is reach for an orange juice or a vitamin C supplement, right? This is because vitamin C is involved in many parts of the immune system, and is a fantastic ingredient to help boost and repair low immunity. Vitamin C contributes to your immune system by supporting cellular functions of your body’s adaptive immune systems. Because it is an antioxidant, it also helps to fight off any free radicals in the body by encouraging the production of white blood cells, this then helps to decrease inflammation whilst also boosting immunity.
2. Protects and repairs skin barrier
Not only is vitamin C fantastic for you internally, it is also an integral ingredient for healthy skin and a glowing complexion. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, and when applied topically it can help to boost the production of collagen and elastin, which helps keep skin looking youthful and free from fine lines, not only this, vitamin C in skincare can help to protect the skin barrier from free radicals, pollution, UV rays and other harmful outdoor elements, this is imperative if you live in a city. Ingesting vitamin C can also help your skin glow from the inside out and promote a brightened complexion and help with anti-aging.
3. Helps prevent iron deficiency
If you have low iron levels, you may find that consuming more vitamin C rich foods, or taking vitamin C enriched supplements such as SHIELD, can help to improve your iron levels. This is because vitamin C facilitates iron absorption in the body, and so to help with any sort of iron-deficiency, you should be consuming iron rich and vitamin C rich foods and supplements if required.
4. Boost cognitive function and protects memory
Vitamin C is also vital for cognitive function and has also been found to help with long term memory. The brain is vulnerable to free radicals, and our only source of protection is antioxidants such as vitamin C (and others being vitamin E, Zinc, Q10 etc) and so ensuring that you get the recommended daily dose of vitamin C will help to ensure a healthy brain and cognitive function.
5. May reduce your risk of chronic disease
Studies have shown over the years that people who have high intakes of vitamin C have a lower risk of developing a number of chronic diseases such as heart disease, eye diseases, cancer and neurodegenerative conditions.
6. May help to manage high blood pressure and lower risk of heart disease
Vitamin C has also been found to potentially help manage high blood pressure, thus lowering your risk of heart disease. Foods rich in vitamin C, or of course supplements with a recommended dose of vitamin C are advised to take if you are looking to lower your blood pressure, of course alongside maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. Antioxidants such as vitamin C protect your cells from damage and reduce inflammation which may help to keep blood pressure under control.
How can you get your daily dose of vitamin C?
Eat foods rich in vitamin C
One of the easiest ways to increase your intake is to introduce vitamin C enriched foods into your diet, these can include citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons, but there are many other foods out there that are a great source of vitamin C such as peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, white potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussels sprouts.
Take food supplements rich in vitamin C
One of the most efficient ways to ensure you are getting the recommended dose of vitamin C is by adding a food supplement into your diet. Food supplements are ideal for those with busy lifestyles who find it difficult to eat the recommended nutritional foods. SHIELD is packed with high quality and clean vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C which helps to support a healthy immune system and protect against free radicals.
This article was written by the co-founders of Supplement Guru, Birpal and Sheetal Virdee. With Birpals
pharmaceutical background and Sheetal’s extensive knowledge on Ayurveda (one of the key ingredients in SHIELD) they have created a truly unique product in SHIELD.