Many Benefits Are Vitamin C Supplements

One of the main reasons for taking vitamin C is to prevent infections such as influenza and common cold. It has been almost no scientific study of the long-term use of vitamin C in high doses by mouth, but it is generally accepted that a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables (both rich in vitamin C) is very beneficial. This is undoubtedly due in part to the high amounts of vitamin C present.

Although eating a healthy diet is the best choice, supplements of vitamin A can also be beneficial. In order to prevent colds many people take four to six 500 mg vitamin C daily. These are the best with meals to prevent symptoms such as stomach pains and diarrhea. Multivitamins do not offer a small amount of vitamin C, but only enough to prevent scurvy - to prevent other more common diseases such as influenza and cancer may require higher doses.

Treatment

Besides its use as a preventive measure, vitamin C can be used as a treatment for diseases. There is anecdotal evidence that oral supplements can reduce the duration and severity of colds and flu. This point is strongly contested in the medical community and has been the subject of much research. The use of oral supplements of vitamin C for treatment is not as well tested as its use for prevention.

A well established property of vitamin C therapy is the use of mega-dose intravenously to treat cancer. It has been shown that intravenous vitamin C selectively kills cancer cells leaving normal cells unscathed. The medicinal use of intravenous vitamins should be administered by a medical profession, as it has some risks. There are several hospitals and clinics that use this treatment and gradually becoming more frequent.

Other benefits

Vitamin C is an easy to access anti-oxidant and these properties make it useful for the prevention of many diseases ranging from heart disease to aging. Antioxidant like vitamin C prevents many harmful oxidative processes that occur naturally during metabolism. This, coupled with the fact that it is used in many metabolic processes, including protein production and release of energy from food, make vitamin C, an important supplement. It has been shown in animal studies to increase longevity by 20% overall.


Summary

Vitamin C is an important complement to prevent many diseases such as scurvy, colds, flu, cancer, heart disease and even aging. Also can be used both orally and intravenously to treat conditions ranging from colds to cancer. It is a natural chemical that is essential for life and must be obtained through foods or supplements. Although not all claims about vitamin C has been medically proven, more research is ongoing and its popularity continues to grow.