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How To Strengthen The Immune System With Vitamin C
When the seasons change, it is common to experience illness. This is because the body must adapts to the sudden changes in temperature, different bacteria and viruses present in the air, and momentary weakness of the immune system as it adapts to these changes too. Let's find out how to reinforce our defences with vitamin C!
Our immune system is a complex network of chemical and biological mechanisms that have evolved over thousands of years, in order to defend our body from threats to its fitness and survival. During seasonal changes, or during times of stress, it is very important to take care of our immune system to allow it to function at its best, and protect us from seasonal illnesses, such as flu, colds, coughs, and other viruses and bacteria of various kinds.
The end of the summer has arrived, and with the first cold spells, the first of the season’s bugs can arrive too. The stress of returning to work and the autumn routines, can put a strain on our body. The immune system, if put under pressure, may quickly show its weakness. How can we naturally strengthen our immunity to prevent this from happening?
We all know that the best way to strengthen our immune system is to start reaching for our stash of vitamin C. Nature offers us its help all year round, providing fruits and vegetables rich in this very important substance. Some of the foods that are naturally rich in vitamin C are: strawberries, citrus fruits, and also, brassicas such as cabbage and broccoli, and even tomatoes.
Vitamin C, in fact, although essential for our health, is not produced by our body. In order to consume the necessary amount of vitamin C we must rely on a balanced diet. But how much vitamin C should we take every day?
There are different opinions: according to the common medical opinion, 60/90 mg per day for an average adult would be enough. But there are some doctors who suggest a much higher requirement. Linus Pauling, Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1954, suggested daily doses of 1,200 mg!
It was the American scientist who first suggested that vitamin C could be used to strengthen the immune system and treat colds.
Research conducted by the Cochrane group in 2007 showed that the intake of high amounts of vitamin C (200 to 1,000 mg) can reduce the incidence of colds in athletes by as much as 50%. But how does vitamin C work in our body?
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is an essential substance for our health, and is central to many functions of our body:
as an immunostimulant
as an anti-inflammatory
as a powerful antioxidant
as an antiviral and antibacterial agent
to contribute to the synthesis of collagen
to aid the absorption of iron from food
to prevent hypertension and high cholesterol
Once vitamin C is ingested through food, it is absorbed by the intestine, and then passed into our blood. Vitamins are essential micronutrients to ensure the efficiency of our immune system. Vitamin C, in particular, helps the white blood cells to fight infections, stimulates the production of phagocytes in cells and enhances the functioning of T lymphocytes. Phagocytes are used to fight pathogens, while T lymphocytes are the fundamental component cells of our immune system.
Very often we are not able to meet the needs of vitamin C of our body with standard nutrition. Even whilst following a balanced and healthy diet, we can face the problem that our fruits and vegetables can be nutrient deficient, due to intensive agriculture and soil depletion.
We can take supplements to obtain the dose of vitamin C we need, but we should take into account the toxicity of additives that are used in laboratory made, cheaper Vitamin C supplements, and also the fact that the degree of assimilation of vitamin C is much less in these cases.
The best way to absorb vitamin C and strengthen the immune system is to rely on the most natural forms of this substance, such as super-fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C and are easier to assimilate. They form complex natural treasure-troves of many nutrients and bio-chemical compounds that aid assimilation and increase the efficiency of vitamin C consumption by several times. Here are the best superfoods with the highest concentrations of vitamin C:
Goji Berries: they are the small fruits of a bush-like plant of Asian origin, a relative of the tomato. Having to withstand the harshest temperatures at high altitudes, these berries develop huge amounts of antioxidants to protect themselves. They are very rich in vitamin C: 100 grams contain as much vitamin C as 1kg of oranges!
Iswari Seeds of Wisdom and Fruits of Love: they are practical and delicious snacks and among their ingredients you’ll find the wonderful Goji Berries for a strong immune system.
Baobab: this African superfood is known for its extraordinary nutritional properties, including a very high vitamin content C, but also minerals and fibre. Excellent for nourishing our intestinal bacterial flora.
Reishi: this miraculous mushroom is used in traditional Chinese medicine, and has been known for millennia for its immune-stimulating properties, in part thanks to its abundance of vitamin C!
