Vitamin C

Food Sources:
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is found in green peppers, citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, turnip greens and other greens, sweet and white potatoes, and cantaloupe. Most other fruits and vegetables contain some vitamin C; fish and milk contain small amounts.

Functions:
Vitamin C promotes healthy teeth and gums, helps in the absorption of iron, aids in the maintenance of normal connective tissue, and promotes wound healing. It also helps the body's immune system.

Recommendations:
Recommended daily allowances (RDAs) are defined as the levels of intake of essential nutrients that, on the basis of scientific knowledge, the Food and Nutrition Board judges to be adequate to meet the known nutrient needs of practically all healthy persons.

The best way to get the daily requirement of essential vitamins is to eat a balanced diet that contains a variety of foods from the food guide pyramid .

It is important that vitamin C be consumed every day since it is not a fat soluble vitamin, and cannot be stored for later use. It is water soluble, therefore it is excreted regularly by the body.

Side Effects:
A deficiency of vitamin C causes the disease scurvy , which is rare in the United States.

Toxicity does not normally occur, since vitamin C is water soluble and is regularly excreted by the body. Diarrhea is a possible (but uncommon) symptom associated with increased intake of vitamin C.


Scurvy is a nutritional disease caused by deficiency of vitamin C. Scurvy has skin manifestations, which may include pinpoint bleeding around hair follicles as shown in this photograph. Mucous membrane symptoms include bleeding along the gums. This disease is no longer seen in the United States.



Scurvy is a nutritional disease caused by deficiency of vitamin C. Common symptoms include pinpoint bleeding around hair follicles, along the gums, and under the nails, as seen in this photograph.This disease rarely occurs in the United States.



Scurvy is a nutritional disease caused by deficiency of vitamin C. Pinpoint bleeding around hair follicles, and "corkscrew hairs" as seen in this picture, can occur as a result of scurvy. Bleeding along the gums is common. This disease rarely occurs in the United States.



Scurvy is a nutritional disease caused by deficiency of vitamin C. Symptoms include pinpoint bleeding around hair follicles, "corkscrew hairs", and bleeding along the gums, as seen in this photograph. This disease rarely occurs in the United States.