Yervand Kondrahjian | Staff Writer
When you walk into a store, you are often flooded with numerous bottles of pills and herbal preparations that claim to “support immunity” or boost your overall health. Meanwhile, hundreds of ads about immune system boosters, especially common during the Covid-19 pandemic and flu seasons, pop up on your screen as you check your social media timeline.
Although some preparations have been found to alter some components of immune function, there is no evidence that they actually bolster immunity so as to protect ones’ body against infection and disease. Demonstrating whether an herb — or any substance, for that matter — can enhance immunity is a highly complicated matter. Scientists are not certain, for example, whether an herb that seems to raise the levels of antibodies in the blood is actually doing anything beneficial for the body’s overall immunity.
This is not to say that the immune system isn’t strongly influenced by the intake of nutrients, specifically vitamin C. This vitamin, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement, in the form of capsules and chewable tablets. Humans, unlike most animals, are unable to synthesize vitamin C endogenously, so it is an essential dietary component. Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits, berries, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, and spinach.
This vitamin is an essential nutrient needed by our body. Some of its health benefits include:
- Collagen Formation
Vitamin C is required for the synthesis of collagen, which is found in connective tissues around the body. The increased collagen synthesis is vital in wound healing.
- Better Iron Absorption
Another benefit of vitamin C is its ability to interact with other vitamins and minerals in the body, such as iron. Iron ensures proper growth and helps delivering oxygen to different parts of the body. Because Nonheme irone – the type of iron found in plants- is hard to be absorbed, eating vitamin C at the same time results in better absorption.
- Antioxidant Properties
Vitamin C is also an important physiological antioxidant and has been shown to regenerate other antioxidants within the body. It helps protect against damage caused by toxic chemicals and pollutants like cigarette smoke as well as free radicals, which are harmful molecules.
- Stress Prevention
There is a correlation between a deficiency in vitamin C and stress related diseases. Vitamin C reduces the levels of stress hormones in the body as well as indicators pf emotional and physical stress, such as body weight loss and enlargement of the adrenal gland.
- Prevention of Eye Diseases
Vitamin C plays an essential role in slowing the progression of age-related macular degeneration and lowering the risk of developing cataracts.
But how much vitamin C should one consume? The daily intake recommendations for vitamin C and other nutrients provided in the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are 90 mg for adult male and 75 mg for adult female.
The vitamin C content of food may be reduced by prolonged storage and by cooking because ascorbic acid is water soluble and is destroyed by heat. Steaming or microwaving may lessen cooking losses. Fortunately, many of the best food sources of vitamin C, such as fruits and vegetables, are usually consumed raw. Consuming five varied servings of fruits and vegetables a day can provide more than 200 mg of vitamin C. Going back to our discussion of the immune system: will this dose help us fight diseases?
Overall, the evidence to date suggests that regular intakes of vitamin C at doses of at least 200 mg/day do not reduce the incidence of the common cold in the general population, but such intakes might be helpful in people exposed to extreme physical exercise or cold environments as well as those with marginal vitamin C status, such as the elderly and chronic smokers. The use of vitamin C supplements might shorten the duration of the common cold and ameliorate symptom severity in the general population, possibly due to the anti-histamine effect of high-dose vitamin C. However, taking vitamin C after the onset of cold symptoms does not appear to be beneficial.
Several immune cells can accumulate vitamin C and need it to perform their task, especially phagocytes and T-cells. Thus, a vitamin C deficiency results in a reduced resistance against certain pathogens whilst a higher supply enhances several immune system parameters. But this doesn’t mean that taking this vitamin will magically cure our diseases.
Supplementation of vitamin C is thus relatively inefficient at treating viral diseases, but it is most effective in cases of physical strain or insufficient intake of the vitamin. Still, this nutrient gets special buzz for the diverse functions it offers in terms of protecting health against cardiovascular diseases, cancer, strokes, eye problems and immunity system deficiencies.
The bottom line? No one silver bullet vitamin, mineral, or nutrient exists to protect your body against various diseases. The secret to having good health is in eating a varied diet rich in all nutrients.