6 ways vitamin c can boost your health

Among vitamins, vitamin C is a superhero. It can greatly benefit your health—from boosting your immune system to helping you age gracefully. Here's how it works its magic.

According to WebMD, being stressed saps vitamin C levels in your bloodstream, especially if you smoke or are obese. This stress can weaken your immune system. While it may not cure a cold, vitamin C can help you replenish your system when you are stressed. For the best effect, try to get vitamin C from dietary sources like fruit rather than supplementation.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant; it reduces the effect of the free radicals in your body. Doing so helps prevent many effects of ageing including collagen breakdown in your skin. By working to reduce oxidation, it also helps your body function better as you get older.

Vitamin C has been credited with helping to reduce the size of cataracts. It's important for healthy eye function, so keeping adequate stores of vitamin C in your system is imperative.

Who doesn't want more energy to zip through their days or tackle major stressors? Vitamin C can help you do just that. By raising levels of happiness-boosting dopamine and waking up your adrenal glands, it can give you that extra zing of energy without the jitters and crashes of sugar or caffeine.

Due to its antioxidant properties, vitamin C has been shown in some studies to help prevent cancer. While the jury is out on just how effective it is, the benefits proponents suggest are huge.

Vitamin C has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. Besides its antioxidant properties, it also helps to lower cholesterol levels.

• These are just a few of the health benefits of vitamin C. It's one of the best vitamins for all around health boosts. While it's important to try to get it from food, it might be hard to get enough to reap the rewards you need for optimal health.
• If that's the case, try looking for a vitamin C supplement. How much you need will depend on a variety of factors, including gender, size, your dietary intake and more. Look here for some guidelines. Most multivitamins also contain at least some vitamin C, so read the labels carefully when making your selection.