Kombucha is RICH in Vitamin C
Vitamin C has become the world’s most popular vitamin. One reason is because of its vital role in fighting infections (strengthening the immune system). Other vital roles vitamin C plays in the body involve the strengthening of the blood vessels and gums. There are also direct links between vitamin C and the promotion of tissue repair, wound healing, building connective tissue and collagen, and helping us to absorb iron. Although this may sound like a lot, the importance of vitamin C does not stop there. Studies have indicated that vitamin C may be of special benefit to people with high blood pressure, smokers, diabetics, and elderly men. Vitamin C can also act as a powerful suppresser of carcinogen formation as well as act as a leading protector against cataract formation. As a water-soluble antioxidant, vitamin C prevents vitamin E from becoming oxidized, thus preventing the premature aging and degenerative disease processes that inflict so many people. Another important role of vitamin C is its anti-stress capabilities. Vitamin C plays a major role in the ability to handle mental and physical stress.
The most convincing evidence suggesting our need for vitamin C supplementation is based on the fact that we, unlike animals, are incapable of producing vitamin C in our bodies. When studies were conducted on animals to see how much vitamin C they produced in relation to their body weight, it was determined that they produced roughly the equivalent of a human consuming 3,000-7,000 milligrams per day.
Historically, vitamin C is well known for its role in the prevention of scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency disease characterized by degeneration of such body tissues as blood vessels, bones and cartilage. Most fresh fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C, and the use of them to treat scurvy led to the discovery of vitamin C as the anti-scurvy factor.
Vitamin C participates in a wide variety of reactions that involve the skin, gums, bones, teeth, tendons, and muscles. Vitamin C’s ability to take and give hydrogen may be significant to this purpose especially in the formation of collagen throughout the body. It is also needed for the formation of adrenal hormones and hemoglobin.
Low intakes of vitamin C are common in the United States. The elderly and low-income groups are often at risk due to excessive reliance on such foods as bread and cereals that contain no vitamin C. Stress may also account for reduced vitamin C levels in many Americans. Smoking and some drugs may also impair the body’s ability to absorb vitamin C.
Since it is water-soluble, vitamin C is flushed from the body each day. Since we don’t always eat foods containing an adequate amount of vitamin C, it often is beneficial to take a supplement.
Important Roles of Vitamin C
1. Vitamin C protects against vascular disease and scurvy.
2. Vitamin C protects against infectious diseases such as the common cold and influenza.
3. Vitamin C protects against cardiovascular disease because:
- Hypocholesterolemic agent.
- Alters triglyceride metabolism.
- Helps to strengthen arterial walls.
- Prevents oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs).
- Reduces blood pressure.
4. Vitamin C aids in wound healing.
5. Vitamin C provides anti-tumor activity in the body.
6. Vitamin C provides relief from skeletal pain in various disorders such as bone metastases (cancer), Paget’s disease of bone and osteogenesis imperfecta.
7. Vitamin C inhibits the production of carcinogenic nitrosamines in the stomach.
8. Vitamin C protects against hypersensitivity to allergenic substances.
9. Vitamin C protects against periodontal disease.
10. Vitamin C promotes a vitamin-sparing effect on multiple vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid cyanocobalamin, retinaldehyde and alpha-tocopherol.
11. Vitamin C is especially effective in helping regenerate vitamin E after oxygen radicals have attacked it.
12. Vitamin C improves iron absorption from the small intestine.
13. Vitamin C is an effective antioxidant, scavenging oxygen radicals.
14. Vitamin C is a cofactor or helper in the metabolism of folic acid, some amino acids and hormones.
15. Vitamin C protects against cancers of the oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, colon and lung, based on epidemiological evidence.
