Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin essential for human health.
Unlike most animals, the human body cannot produce vitamin C, so you must obtain it from foods.
Vitamin C contributes to many bodily functions, including:
Vitamin C is an important antioxidant protecting cells by limiting the damaging effects of free radicals (1).
Vitamin C plays an important role in immune system regulation. It increases white blood cell activity that help neutralise pathogens (2).
Vitamin C is required for the biosynthesis of collagen which plays a vital role in wound healing.
Recommended Daily Allowance for a 44-year-old male moderately active, weighting 70 kg and 175 cm tall is 90 mg and the Tolerable Upper Intake is 2 000 mg (3).
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Vitamin C deficiency may cause the following (4) :
Because vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, the body does not absorb excess amounts and rapidly excrete them in the urine, so it has low acute toxicity. The most common symptoms are (5) :