vitamin C

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble solid and probably the best known of the vitamins. It fulfils many functions in the human organism and serves, for example, as a radical scavenger. In addition to this protection against oxidants, vitamin C plays an important role in many metabolic processes and is involved, for example, in the formation of amino acids such as L-tyrosine. Vitamin C also serves as a coenzyme for prolyl-4-hydroxylase. This process serves to build the protein collagen. Collagen is a so-called structural protein that is essential for the formation of the extracellular matrix of the connective tissue. In addition, ascorbic acid regulates hormone secretion and improves the absorption of calcium and iron. Finally, the vitamin is said to stimulate the body's own defenses, which makes it popular as a means of preventing colds (for example in the form of acerola tablets). The acerola cherry has a particularly high content of bioactive vitamin C in its natural form.

Vitamin C is one of the essential substances that cannot be produced by the body itself. Larger amounts of vitamin C can be found in rose hips, acerola and sea buckthorn berries, citrus fruits, peppers, raw sauerkraut, kale, potatoes, beans and broccoli. An overview of the vitamin C content of individual foods can be found here.

The actual daily requirement of vitamin C is still being debated. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) offers a solid average. In a table, it lists the recommended daily dose of vitamin C depending on age and gender. For men aged 19 and over, the reference value is 110 mg per day, and for women in the same age group, it is 95 mg. Breastfeeding women have the highest requirement: according to the DGE, their daily requirement is 125 mg.

If you have any of the following symptoms, your vitamin C supply may be too low:

• Tiredness, exhaustion, reduced performance
• increased irritability
• Joint and limb pain
• poor wound healing
• Bleeding from the skin, mucous membranes or gums
• rough, flaky and dry skin
• loose teeth
• high fever
• severe diarrhea

The causes of a vitamin C deficiency are usually a high need combined with an unbalanced diet or too little food. The need is increased by competitive sports and hard physical work, smoking and alcohol abuse, antibiotics and other medications, cancer, infectious diseases and disorders of the kidney function requiring dialysis.

Like most deficiency symptoms, a vitamin C deficiency initially manifests itself in tiredness and reduced performance. Increased irritability, muscle weakness and aching limbs (especially in the calves) can also be the first symptoms of a vitamin C deficiency.

A lack of vitamin C leads to a reduced activity of prolyl hydroxylation and lysyl hydroxylation. This makes collagen, which is a component of almost all organs and tissues, especially connective tissue, more unstable. The disease resulting from a chronic deficiency is known as scurvy. It occurs after two to four months of prolonged lack of vitamin C. Performance decreases significantly. Death from heart failure is also possible in people suffering from scurvy.

An overdose of vitamin C can also occur. Vitamin C that is not used by the body is usually excreted in the urine. However, if a person consumes very large amounts of vitamin C in a short period of time, the excretory organs cannot keep up and symptoms such as abdominal cramps, nausea and diarrhea occur.

Particularly stressful times place a great challenge on your body. Infections, stress, exercise, cigarette and alcohol consumption, and medication all challenge your immune system and increase your need for vital vitamin C. Since your body cannot produce this essential vitamin itself, you are dependent on getting it from food or nutritional supplements.

Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling once described vitamin C as the "body's best protective police force". Vitamin C is an effective antioxidant and in this function protects your organism from free radicals. Vitamin C is involved in numerous metabolic processes, improves the absorption of iron, contributes to normal collagen formation for normal bone and cartilage function and supports the activation of the "happiness hormones" serotonin and dopamine. Vitamin C is a useful antioxidant and an outstanding vitamin when it comes to strengthening your immune system. That is why an increased intake of vitamin C is popular, especially in times of great challenge or during the change of seasons with strong temperature fluctuations and many potential sources of infection.

Vitamin C lozenges make it easy for you and a little sour is fun too: you suck a tasty tablet once a day, without any water, and provide yourself with a sufficient amount of vitamin C even when you need it more. In addition, a vitamin C lozenge contains cranberry juice concentrate powder, which is equivalent to 150 ml of cranberry juice or 180 mg of fresh cranberries.

Support your immune system anytime, anywhere, thanks to the fruity, sour vitamin C lozenges.

Good to know : Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. It is very sensitive to storage, light, air and heat, which means that the loss of vitamin C in food can sometimes be considerable. Your body cannot produce vitamin C itself and cannot store it for long - so the human organism depends on a regular supply. You should take vitamin C as a dietary supplement over a longer period of time. In addition to the strengths of vitamin C already mentioned above, there are others that can be listed, including:

* Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for normal skin function
* Vitamin C contributes to normal energy metabolism
* Vitamin C contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system