In the pursuit of seeking better health, people often lean toward ingesting as many nutrients as they can through daily diet or supplements. But, only a few are aware of what and how much their body truly needs. One such nutrient popular amongst people wanting to improve skin, bone, and circulatory health is vitamin C.
What happens when there’s less than normal vitamin C in the body?
Vitamin C deficiency can have many symptoms, with the more common ones being deteriorating skin and hair health, bleeding or bruising easily, and experiencing low energy bouts. Prolonged deficiency can lead to conditions like Scurvy. Nonetheless, most conditions due to vitamin C deficiency can be treated by consuming more vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables, like broccoli, or taking supplements.
What happens when there’s more than normal vitamin C in the body?
A common concern that people may have when consuming anything is what would happen if they consume too much of the same nutrient. Luckily, there are hardly any chronic symptoms associated with overconsumption of vitamin C through supplements or otherwise. However, the inability to develop chronic conditions doesn’t substitute for not experiencing any serious symptoms or side effects. Those consuming too many artificial supplements or orange, bell peppers, or other vitamin C-dense fruits may complain of nausea, headache, diarrhea, or even kidney stones.
How do you determine how much vitamin C you need?
- Consult a healthcare professional.
Rather than browsing the Internet for general recommendations and speculating about how much vitamin C you would require, it’s best to raise this question to your healthcare professional at your next regular visit, or sooner if you’ve been experiencing symptoms associated with deficiency.
Typically,
1. Your healthcare provider would request you to get a vitamin C blood test.
2. After receiving your results, they will consider your age, weight, and lifestyle habits to give dietary suggestions—like eating more or less parsley and other vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C—to get your levels back to normal.
3. In case the vitamin C levels are too low, your healthcare provider may prescribe supplements.
4. In case you’re already diagnosed with blood disorders or some other condition where taking excessive vitamin C would be counterproductive, your healthcare provider may only recommend increasing intake through regular diet in sustained amounts rather than prescribing high-dosage supplements.
- Track how much you’re consuming.
Once you’ve gotten an overview of how much vitamin C you’re supposed to consume daily, it’s time to use technology.
1. Pay attention to the nutritional value of the products you buy online through a grocery delivery app or store. If you’re already taking high-dose supplements, it’s best to avoid products too high in vitamin C. Regardless, it would be safer to consume fruits or vegetables like eggplant that have low levels of vitamin C.
2. Use a diet tracker to record what you eat in a day. Typically, a diet tracker already has data related to the nutritional value of the foods you eat, unless they’re processed. A diet tracker may also record information about the synthetic dietary supplements you eat. Using such a tool can help you ensure that you’re meeting your daily nutritional targets. You may also use additional tools to record improvement in mood or skin health if you have specific goals related to them. However, it’s important to note that experiments have shown that boiling or cooking can break down the vitamin C in vegetables. Yet, the exact level of breakdown varies by different vegetables, boiling conditions, and time. Thus, the measurement of the vitamin C you’re consuming through homecooked meals may not be very accurate.
To sum up:
Although consuming excess vitamin C rarely results in lifelong diseases, consuming less than required for a prolonged time can result in you experiencing discomforting symptoms. Thus, it’s essential to have a clear picture of how much vitamin C your body requires every day.
By getting a health checkup done and realizing the average intake depends on your age, weight, and health, you can determine how much vitamin C you require. Always be sure to keep an estimate of how much you’re consuming by paying attention to the nutritional value per 100 grams mentioned on the listing of the food product you’re ordering from online grocery delivery apps. While it’s not required to strictly consume just how much you’ve been advised to, it’s safer not to consume up to levels inching toward the extremes.