Does vitamin C help increase resistance?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc - General Internal Medicine - Endocrinology - Department of Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital. Doctor has more than 10 years of studying, researching and working in the field of endocrinology.
Vitamin C is one of the substances that help strengthen the body's immune system. A deficiency in this vitamin can even make you more susceptible to illnesses, especially infections of the respiratory tract. But our body cannot make or store vitamin C, so daily supplementation through foods is very important to strengthen resistance and prevent disease.

1. Overview of vitamin C

Vitamin C is one of the essential vitamins for the body. There are some animals that can synthesize this vitamin, but we humans cannot do it. That's why we need to get it from foods and other sources like C effervescent tablets. However, the best sources of vitamin C are fresh vegetables and fruits, especially citrus fruits.
Most experts recommend getting vitamin C from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables rather than taking a multivitamin. Fresh orange juice or fresh frozen concentrate is the perfect choice for you.
Vitamin C was once used to prevent and treat Scurvy - a disease caused by a deficiency of Vitamin C, common among sailors on ships that were at sea for many months, leading to a condition scarcity of fresh vegetables and fruits. And today vitamin C is mentioned a lot with the role of strengthening the body's immune system, is this true or false?

2. What effect does Vitamin C have?

Vitamin C is necessary for the growth and function of many parts of our body. This vitamin also plays an important role in maintaining the body's immune function.
Vitamin C contributes to strengthening immunity, increasing resistance by supporting the function of various cells throughout the immune system. It supports epithelial barrier function against pathogens and promotes oxidative scavenging activity of the skin. As a result, it helps to protect against environmental oxidation. Vitamin C is present in phagocytic cells such as neutrophils and has the ability to enhance phagocytosis, generate reactive oxygen species, and ultimately destroy invading bacteria. It is also required for programmed cell death and for the release of used neutrophils from sites infected by macrophages, thereby reducing necrosis and potential tissue damage. .

The role of vitamin C in lymphocytes (a component of the body's immune system) is unclear, but it has been shown to enhance B and T cell differentiation and proliferation. This effect may be based on vitamin C's ability to regulate genes.
A deficiency in vitamin C leads to a weakening of the body's immunity, making the person more susceptible to infections. In contrast, infection also affects the level of vitamin C in the body because it has to spend a large amount in the inflammatory - infectious process. Furthermore, vitamin C supplementation seems to be able to prevent and treat respiratory and systemic infections. The prevention of infection requires the addition of vitamin C to the diet.

In addition, vitamin C is said to prevent colds. Researchers have found that among active people, such as marathon runners, skiers and those in the military who exercise heavily, a daily supply of at least 200mg of vitamin C stops. as it has halved the risk of catching a cold. But for people who are sedentary in general, taking vitamin C daily does not reduce the risk of catching a cold.
Research shows that getting at least 200mg of vitamin C per day seems to reduce the duration of cold symptoms by an average of 8% in adults and 14% in children, reducing the duration of the illness by about a day. This can be important to some people, as the common cold is responsible for 23 million lost work days each year.
Some studies show that a large dose of vitamin C can help prevent colds, but they would need to provide a dose of 8,000mg of vitamin C per day. But with doses above 400mc vitamin C/day, it was excreted in the urine. And if used in doses of 2,000 mg/day or more, it can cause side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain and it can affect the results of blood sugar tests. .

So how is it right to supplement with vitamin C, to benefit the body and increase resistance?

3. How to supplement with Vitamin C

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Take vitamin C properly

If you want to get the benefits of vitamin C, it's important to take it daily, not just starting with a cold or illness.
The best way to get vitamin C is from food, because it helps you get other important nutrients. Experts recommend a daily serving of five servings of fruits and vegetables to help us get the vitamin C we need.
Foods rich in vitamin C include oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, strawberries, bell peppers, spinach, kale, broccoli,... Daily vitamin C supplementation is essential for health because children We humans cannot produce or store it. Because this vitamin is found in so many foods, most people don't need to take a vitamin C supplement like C effervescent, unless it's on the advice of a doctor.

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Articles refer to sources: NCBI, Health.clevelandclinic.org, health.harvard.edu, Webmd.com
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