Sailing new seas - Vitamin C - Ascorbic Acid

Ciao Nutrinutters!

I'm extremely proud with the title of this post since this week's vitamin is known to have prevented scurvy among sailors in the early 1900s (hence the "sailing new seas") bringing history and nutrition to you ;)  ladies and gents I present to you Vitamin C, also known as Ascorbic Acid.

The Functions

This vitamin is a little easier to remember its functions because it is quite a famous one!

Most people know vitamin C because of its antioxidant ability and I'm sure we've all heard that we should take a little vitamin C when we are feeling "under the weather".

There's no doubt that this vitamin C plays a role in controlling infections and in fact is an antioxidant.
For those who have missed my previous explanation of what an antioxidant is or still are not very clear what that means, I found a pretty good analogy that might help. We can compare free radicals to a fire that can potentially harm our cells and damage our body structures, then antioxidants will be our "fire extinguishers" that will neutralize the fire or free radicals. Neat, right??

But all that most of us already knew right? "What can the Nutrinut bring to the table that's new" you might be wondering...

This part usually makes the ladies more alert than the fellas - vitamin C is required to produce collagen. Even I am guilty of linking collagen to youthful looking skin, however it is important for the connective tissue of not only skin but also bone, teeth, tendons and ligaments giving our bodies form and support to our organs.

Another neat function of Ascorbic Acid is its ability to reduce iron. What? You lost me Nutrinut!
Let me explain...most vitamins have a form in which they are better absorbed in our bodies. It just so happens that this is Vitamin C's. Which is why when you are having foods that are rich in iron, like meat, it is always a good idea to include a citrus fruit to help your body better absorb iron.

I already know where to get Vitamin C...can we skip this next part?

Nope! We still have to know how much we should have per day remember? The daily recommendation for adult males is 90 milligrams and for females is 75 milligrams. For pregnant and lactating women, like usually, is a little higher: 85 mg and 120 mg respectively.
According to the Dietary Reference Intake, smokers should also take 35 mg more than the recommended above.
 
Since most of us are already pretty familiar with good sources of Vitamin C, I will give you some examples of fruits and veggies that are good sources and how much Ascorbic Acid each one has:

1 medium papaya - about 160 mg of vitamin C
1 cup of broccoli - about 100 mg of vitamin C
1 cup of strawberries/pineapples - about 80 mg of vitamin C
1 medium orange - about 70 mg of vitamin C

Like most of the other vitamins, there is a tolerable upper intake level set and for vitamin C is 2000 mg.

And now this is the time where I bid you adieu and wish everyone and amazing week!! :)
See you next week as we continue our journey!

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-