Why Should You Have Vitamin C Every Day?

While consuming adequate levels of macronutrients -- protein, fat and carbohydrates -- each day is essential, ensuring that you don't overlook micronutrients -- vitamins and minerals -- is vital as well. One particularly important micronutrient that needs to be consumed daily is vitamin C. This vitamin is involved in a broad range of physiological actions, ranging from bone health to hormone production, so a diet with plenty of vitamin C-rich foods can be quite beneficial.

Optimal Fat Burning

Vitamin C is often cited for its immune system benefits, but that's not all this vitamin can do for improving your health. Consuming adequate levels of this vitamin is also important if you're trying to lose weight and improve your body composition. According to research published in the June 2005 edition of "Journal of the American College of Nutrition," consuming vitamin C can help you oxidize, or burn, more fat during athletic activity.

Norepinephrine Production

In addition to promoting physical health, vitamin C aids in promoting mental health. Vitamin C helps with the production of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that transmits signals involving muscular contractions and your metabolism. Norepinephrine is also prescribed to treat asthma.

Prostate Protection

Some research indicates that vitamin C may aid in the treatment of an enlarged prostate, a condition also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, a disease for which the risk increases as men age. According to a study from the September 2010 issue of "The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry," vitamin C helped inhibit the growth of cells contributing to BPH, induced by large doses of testosterone. The researchers noted that these results "indicate that vitamin C could be further developed clinically for use as an anti-BPH agent."

Scurvy Prevention

Another condition that daily vitamin C intake can prevent is scurvy. Scurvy is a potentially fatal condition in which your bones, blood vessels and connective tissue are weakened, leading to increased bleeding, joint pain and loss of hair and teeth.

Healthy Immune System

Consuming vitamin C every day offers several benefits for your immune system. The nutrient promotes increased production of white blood cells, and it may also increase their strength, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Vitamin C also protects cells against oxidative damage, which is why it is known as an antioxidant.