Whether you are trying to lose weight, get stronger or just want to stay in a great shape, vitamin C is the element you should start focusing from now on. It is considered to one of those vitamins that goes a long way in helping you achieve your fitness goals.
If you have an active life, then, it means you need vitamin C! There is no doubt about that. This article covers all the possible whys you need to know regarding this super vitamin. So, let’s get started J
Why need vitamin C?
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), is one of the most essential vitamins to our body. This water-soluble vitamin is essential for our system to develop and properly grow. Vitamin C is considered to be one of the safest vitamins we can ever take that help build our immune system and keep our body protected. Vitamin C also works as a powerful antioxidant. That’s why it can prevent damages that happen by free radicals and also, it reduces the damages in our body caused by toxic chemicals.
Overall, vitamin C is essential and is required for the repair of different tissues in all parts of our body especially when helping create the collagen. Collagen is a protein that helps to build our skin, blood vessels, tendons, scar tissues, etc.
You can now better understand why everyone needs this vitamin in their lives. Also, if the above mentioned reasons are not enough to make you start regularly taking it, vitamin C is able to strongly repair our wounds and also, strengthen our bones, teeth, cartage and significantly lowers our stress level.
Why athletes need vitamin C?
First of all, athletes and anyone else who might be trying to lose those extra pounds or just wants to build strength, in the end, are all normal people with the same physical needs. That is why; physical active people make no difference when getting all the benefits from this vitamin. But, in addition, they actually get to have some extra benefits on their workout routine.
Vitamin C helps all athletes to quickly recover from any intense workout. Our body naturally loses its strength and metabolism’s powers when working out too hard. That is why, by regularly taking Vitamin C, we provide for our bodies some essential enzymes which can block inflections and inflammations.
This vitamin can also boost our heart’s work by regulating our blood’s cycle and pressure. Vitamin C also helps our digestive absorption and make it work more efficiently and quickly.
In men, vitamin C can significantly help keep testosterone levels high by supporting a lower ratio of the cortisol to testosterone, making possible to keep your performance level high on your daily physical commitments.
In women, vitamin C helps protects the braking off of the capillaries which can cause heavy blood flow, especially for the ones with endometriosis during the menstruation cycle. It also helps the liver to balance the level of estrogen during this cycle.
How much to take/ Biggest Sources
The respective institutions are the ones which have already calculated the optimal amount of this vitamin that adults, divided by gender, should take in their daily diet. For male adults, over the age of 19, the recommended amount of Vitamin C is 90 mg per day. For women, over the age of 19, the recommended amount is 75 mg per day.
Some of the most common foods containing vitamin C are:
Orange
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Raspberries
Pineapples
Papaya
Kiwi
Green Pepper
Red pepper
Strawberries
Brussels sprouts
Cranberries
Etc.