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Food form vitamin C
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Food form Vitamin C health supplements
What does Vitamin C do? Vitamin C is an important nutrient, which contains high levels of antioxidants that help our bodies to fight off disease and
infections, as well as harmful free radicals. It is also involved in at least 8 enzyme reactions, which if not working properly, lead to scurvy. People most
often use Vitamin C as a health supplement in order to boost their immune system and, in particular, to stave off colds and flu.
Antioxidants: Vitamin C is well known for its antioxidant activity. Ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress,
which occurs when there are more free radicals in the body than antioxidants. Vitamin C and its natural antioxidants can therefore be beneficial for
general health and well-being, as well as for immune system deficiencies, pre-natal health problems, eye disease, heart health, hypertension,
chronic inflammatory diseases, diabetes and even skin wrinkling.
Vitamin C sources and Vitamin C foods: A wide variety of whole foods and raw fruits and vegetables provide an excellent food source of Vitamin C.
For example, Acerola cherries, broccoli, blackcurrants, parsley leaf, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, elderberries, lemons, strawberries, kiwi fruit,
papaya, kale, cabbage, turnip greens, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple, chard, tomatoes, raspberries, spinach, green beans, fennel, cranberries,
asparagus, watermelon and rose hip. Amalaki, the richest-known plant source of Vitamin C (containing 3000mg per fruit) is a highly potent antioxidant.
It is included in Ayurvedic and health supplement formulas to boost immune function and to treat coughs and colds. It is also reputed to build and
maintain bone and joints, because Vitamin C can stimulate the growth of collagen.
Food state Vitamin C - best form of Vitamin C
Food form / food state Vitamin C: Our bodies were designed to eat natural foods, because they can recognise the nutrients and easily absorb and use them.
Synthetic and chemically polluted foods, on the other hand, cannot be recognised by our bodies and so are treated as harmful invaders. What’s more, it is
far more difficult for our bodies to absorb nutrients from processed foods, because our systems don’t recognise the nutrients or know what to do with
them.
The same goes for health supplements, vitamins and minerals. Food form supplements (i.e. supplements that are as close to their original whole food
ingredients as possible) are more easily absorbed by the body, ultimately making them cheaper and more effective.
Food form supplements (in contrast to synthetic supplements) are slow release. For the most part, a synthetic supplement will simply pass through the body
by urination, without any benefit to health. Organic food form supplements, on the other hand, particularly in the form of Vitamin C, are able to assist with
a wide variety of health conditions and health goals.
Our food form Vitamin C is completely natural (which allows for maximum absorption of nutrients) and is derived from Aerola cherries, rose hip,
blackcurrants, parsley leaf and elderberry. It is a high strength, high quality Vitamin C supplement, but the combination is gentle and non-acidic.
Ascorbic acid: It is important to understand the difference between ascorbic acid and Vitamin C. A lot of Vitamin C sold is ascorbic acid, but this is not
Vitamin C in its natural, food form. Ascorbic acid is actually a man-made chemical; an artificial, reduced form of this natural vitamin. It is manufactured
in chemical plants by applying heat, pressure and chemicals to sugar - a process that converts the glucose to ascorbic acid.
As is the case with all vitamins and minerals in fresh foods, when it is heated, Vitamin C breaks down and becomes less effective. Because it is a synthetic
chemical and an acid, ascorbic acid is not absorbed or used by the body in the same way as food. What’s more, it can actually upset the stomach and
irritate the digestive tract.
