How much is enough?To maintain our health, protect our body from diseases, and keep youthfulness and beauty, how much vitamin C should we take? The amount of vitamin C depends a lot on the person concerned and his or her needs. It cannot be made by the human body, although most of the mammals can synthesize it. Animals can produce 1-6g of vitamin C a day in terms of a human being weighing 60kg. Animals produce it in grams. This is not useless. Even this amount is necessary for them so they produce it inside their bodies. Humans and animals have different metabolism and metabolic turnover rates. Having considered that, 100-400mg of vitamin C is needed to be produced per day (assuming that the human ancestors have the capacity to make vitamin C). That amount is the essential requirement for human. People who should get more vitamin CThere are factors that require more amount of vitamin C. When the function of vitamin C is taken into account, some people are advised to take a fair amount of it. Pregnant and lactating womenTaking into account the increase in weight during pregnancy, increase in energy of pregnant and lactating women, and decrease in amount of lactating women, the recommended amounts of vitamin C for women who are pregnant and breastfeeding are 110mg and 150mg, respectively. However, the increase in the physiologic required amount of vitamin C during pregnancy and the required amount for fetal development have not been considered. No enough research to determine why women crave for Chinese citron (summer orange) when experiencing morning sickness, but it could be a warning sign of vitamin C deficiency. Through breastfeeding, vitamin C transfers to the infant to make it healthy. On the other hand, the nursing mother loses vitamin C through this. To this end, women who are pregnant and breastfeeding require more vitamin C. SmokersSmoking deprives your body of vitamin C. There is no correlation between the numbers of cigarettes smoked per day and vitamin C depletion. Both light and heavy smokers lose the same amount of vitamin C supply in their bodies. Vitamin C breaking down toxic substances they have inhaled in their systems is how smokers drain this nutrient from their body. It also hinders the vitamin C absorption in the small intestine. People drinking alcoholDrinking of about 1 Go (180ml) of saké will not burn up the vitamin C in your system. It will only lessen the nutrient in your body when more than 3 Go are consumed every night. Alcohol slows down the absorption and speeds up the metabolism of vitamin C. Vitamin C aids the clearance of alcohol in the blood (flushing from the bloodstream). It also helps liver to metabolize alcohol, protects from alcohol’s toxic effect, and prevents alcoholic liver diseases. Heavy drinkers need to get vitamin C in great quantity. People get hangovers and drunken sicknessesAlcohol is absorbed through the small intestine and then is passed through the liver, where it gets metabolized into acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is a compound that causes nausea and the underlying cause of drunken sickness and hangover. Vitamin C deficiency is a cause of drunken sickness and hangover. Increase the intake of vitamin C in the body to aid the metabolism of alcohol and lower the concentration of acetaldehyde. In this way, you can avoid getting drunken sickness and hangover. |