The wonder vitamin

We all know about Vitamin C sometimes referred to as the ‘wonder vitamin’ due to the many different functions it is responsible for, inside the human body.

This vitamin is found in fruits, especially those from the citrus family. Other fruits such as mango, guava, pineapple, papaw and tomatoes; fresh vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, green pepper and beans; sprouting pulse and germinating grams are also rich sources of this essential vitamin. Although potatoes and seeds are poor sources of Vitamin C, they are rich during germination. Animal sources are also poor in this vitamin.

This water-soluble and heat-labile (changeable) vitamin, which is also known as ascorbic acid, is easily oxidised at 100 degrees Celsius. It is also destroyed in cooking and canning due to the alkalies and copper salts used in the process.

So, why is this vitamin important? It is an antioxidant that is responsible for about 300 metabolic (the chemical process that changes food) functions in the body such as tissue growth and repair, adrenalin gland functions and healthy gums.

Ascorbic acid is responsible for carbohydrate metabolism and a deficiency could result in a deficiency in the production of insulin; it is also essential for the proper functioning of formative cells in various tissues of the body.

The substance also helps the synthesis (combination) of collagen - a connective tissue between bones - and plays a role in the healing of wounds, blood clotting and the maturation of red cells.

The vitamin is also said to lower the levels of Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL - known as bad cholesterol) and increase High Density Lipoproteins (HDL - known as good cholesterol) and also lower blood pressure.

The dreaded disease, scurvy is caused as a result of Vitamin C deficiency in one’s diet. This disease was first noticed among sailors and pirates who stayed away from land for long periods of time, therefore being deprived of fresh food, and among soldiers who also didn’t have access to fresh food.

Its symptoms include spots on the skin, especially in the thigh and leg areas, sponginess and bleeding in the gums and loss of teeth.

It was Captain Lind of the British Navy who discovered that scurvy in sailors could be cured by giving them oranges and lemons. Captain Cook (1772-75) gave his men fresh food and kept the disease away from them. Although the discovery of the link between the vitamin and the disease has reduced the prevalence (existence), of scurvy, this is no reason for complacency (satisfaction).

This disease can still affect children with restricted diets, elderly people and alcoholics.

Besides scurvy, other ailments which may occur as a result of a lack of Vitamin C is the erosion of gums and frequent bleeding in the mouth, malformation of bones and teeth, irregular deposits of bone salts and decrease in density (mass per unit of volume) in long bones, increased brittleness of bones leading to fractures, anaemia, skin eruptions vulnerability to infections, disturbed carbohydrate metabolism, fatigue, vulnerability to cold, flu and other infectious diseases and weight loss.

Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables can easily meet the daily Vitamin C requirement, which is between 30mg and 80mg for children and about 75mg for adults. It is very important that children and older people have a regular intake of this vitamin.

Vitamin C is absorbed from the intestines and is stored in the body, especially in the liver, adrenals, pituitary and corpus luteum.

Another important point is that Vitamin C has to be taken from outside as it is not produced in the body.