Vitamin C Benefits - Article Summary

1.     Vitamin C is an extremely important vitamin in the human body, which must be acquired from the diet.

2.     There are many people in the United States who are deficient in Vitamin C despite normal diets.

3.     Low levels of Vitamin C can lead to poor skin integrity, poor wound healing, gum or teeth damage, poor exercise tolerance, and fatigue.

4.     Vitamin C is important in the creation of many enzymes, in anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects at lower blood concentrations, and pro-oxidant effects resulting in anti-infection and anti-cancer properties at much higher blood concentrations.

5.     Supplementation during cold and flu season can decrease the duration and severity of the common cold (viral illness). This effect is much more pronounced in highly physically active people (Marathoners).

6.     To avoid dangerously low amounts of Vitamin C in the blood, the recommended dietary intake is currently 200mg/day, which can be acquired from 5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, oral supplementation through capsules or chewable tablets, or intravenous supplementation.

7.     IV supplementation can create blood concentrations of Vitamin C not possible with oral supplementation.

8.     IV supplementation of 2.5 to 10 grams in a session resulted in decreased symptoms of fatigue, improved emotional and cognitive health, and improved physical endurance. It can also reduce the severity of side effects of many chemotherapeutic agents (without reducing their effectiveness against cancer cells).

9.     IV supplementation of 25 to 50 grams in a session can result in decreased inflammation markers in the blood, and early studies show it can slow the rate of cancer growth or lead to destruction of cancer cells.

10.  IV supplementation has been shown in many studies to be extremely safe and well tolerated without frequent adverse effects.