Your body needs vitamin C to form healthy bones, muscle, cartilage, skin and blood vessels. It may also boost the immune system and function as an antioxidant, sweeping up the dangerous byproducts of digestion that are thought to contribute to aging and the development of many diseases like cancer and heart disease. Vitamin C tablets can cause side effects, particularly at high doses, according to MedlinePlus. Talk to your doctor before taking vitamin C.
Vitamin C Deficiency
Severe vitamin C deficiency, or scurvy, is rare these days. But this potentially fatal condition can occur in people who are malnourished, have increased vitamin C needs or in breastfed infants, according to MayoClinic.com. It is treatable with vitamin C tablets but requires a doctor's care. Some people, particularly smokers, are mildly deficient in vitamin C, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. This can cause symptoms like dry skin and hair, inflamed or bleeding gums, slowed healing, bruising, nosebleeds and a susceptibility to infection.
Common Cold
Though taking vitamin C to ward off colds is a common use, the scientific evidence for it is weak, reports UMMC. Most evidence indicates that taking vitamin C won't prevent the average person from getting a cold. Some studies on exercisers in extreme environments like soldiers in the Arctic or marathon runners have found that taking vitamin C tablets reduced the number of colds people contracted. Vitamin C tablets might shorten the length of your cold by about a day, if you take vitamin C regularly and not just when you get sick. Treating a cold with vitamin C once symptoms have started does not appear to work, according to MayoClinic.com.
Cancer
A diet rich in vitamin C from eating plenty of fruits and vegetables has been linked to a reduction in the risk of many types of cancer, including cancers of the lung and colon. But because fruits and vegetables contain many other chemicals, it is not known whether vitamin C caused this benefit or something else did. Research has shown that taking vitamin C tablets does not protect against cancer, according to MayoClinic.com. Some cancer patients take vitamin C to help their treatment but so far there is no strong evidence that this works. Also, some doctors fear that the antioxidant effects of large doses of vitamin C may interfere with treatment, according to UMMC. Talk to your doctor before taking vitamin C if you have cancer.
Other Uses
Vitamin C tablets can be used to increase the body's absorption of iron, which can be helpful to those with iron-deficiency anemia. Vitamin C may also reduce the risk of urinary tract infections in pregnant women, according to MayoClinic.com. Vitamin C tablets may also help people recover from ulcers, though more research is needed to confirm these findings. Vitamin C tablets are also sometimes used to treat a number of conditions in which there is not enough research evidence to know whether they are effective or not. These include arthritis, asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease and cataracts.
Member Comments