Vitamin C is a well-known supplement. Many people take this vitamin to support their immune system when they feel under the weather.
Your need for this vitamin increases when you are ill or stressed. As you can’t make this vitamin, it is important to make sure that there’s enough in your diet, or that you take a good quality supplement.
Uses of Vitamin C
Apart from the variety of ways that it supports the immune system, this vitamin is also used in other areas of your body. It plays a role in:
- Absorption of copper and iron from the intestines.
- Synthesising collagen; an important structural part of blood vessels, bone, ligaments, and tendons.
- Antioxidant action and the regeneration of other antioxidants.
- As a cofactor in various metabolic processes within the body.
- Synthesis of noradrenaline, a neurotransmitter.
Forms of Vitamin C
To make the most of a Vitamin C supplement, it is important to make sure you are taking a form that your body can use.
This vitamin comes in many different forms, some of which your body can readily access and use, and others have a harder time with.
Sodium ascorbate and calcium ascorbate are the two most bioavailable forms of Vitamin C.
Absorption
Your body can also have a difficult time absorbing this vitamin if you take it all in one big dose.
To improve how much of the Vitamin C you absorb, so that you get the most out of your supplement, break up the doses if you can. If your powder supplements containing this vitamin can be added to a drink bottle or drunk over time to increase how much your body takes up, you may do it.
