Vitamin C fortifies and protects immune cells (1).
It also helps stimulate several specific immune system functions, such as immune cell mobility (2), pathogen killing ability and antibody production required for long-term immunity (3).
Vitamin C is nature’s super-antioxidant. It neutralises free radicals (4) which damage DNA and accellerate the ageing process. Vitamin C is also essential for collagen synthesis, bone mineralisation, cell repair and tissue regeneration.
Vitamin C helps eliminate a slew of nasty toxins from the body, including the by-products of viral & bacterial infections and a range of contaminants that we come in contact with in day-to-day life.
Evidence shows Vitamin C can help reverse toxicity induced by lead exposure (5), and can protect against various other toxins including bacterial pathogens (6), metal oxide nanoparticles (7), and a range of endotoxins (8).
Did You Know...
Most animals synthesize their own vitamin C internally in very large amounts. Goats for example produce the equivalent of 14 g per day (based on 70 kg human).
Curiously, humans have lost this ability, along with guinea pigs, primates and a few bird species. We still have all the machinery for synthesis but have a mutation in the gene which codes for an enzyme needed for the final step in the process, L-gulono-γ-lactone oxidase (9).