Too much Vitamin C can lead to health complaints

The water-soluble Vitamin C, including ascorbic acid, is essential for life and has a lot of different tasks. Since it cannot be stored in the body, is a continuous recording of the Vitamin is necessary. However, anyone who takes too much can cause health complaints such as digestive problems.

Because the body does not produce Vitamin C or store, it is important that the essential nutrient through the diet record. The best Vitamin C suppliers are vegetables and fruit. Some people also take additional supplements. But be careful: too Much of the Vitamin can lead to health complaints. The renowned Mayo Clinic (USA) points out in a recent post.

Many of the metabolic processes involved

As the German nutrition society (DGE) explains on its website, Vitamin C is involved in many metabolic processes. It will be used, among other things, to the structure of the connective tissue (collagen), bones, and teeth.

According to the experts, Vitamin C anti-oxidant, which means works, it intercepts harmful Compounds such as free radicals and reactive oxygen species and thus protects the cells and molecules in the body from damage. In digestion, it improves the utilization of iron from vegetable foods and also the formation of cancer inhibiting amines trigger the nitro.

What foods contain far Vitamin C?

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Vegetables and fruit, and from them manufactured products such as juices and Smoothies, the best Vitamin C suppliers are. Examples of foods with a particularly high Vitamin C content are berries, including sea buckthorn(juice), sweet peppers, black currants, and parsley (> 100 mg/100 g).

Due to their high Vitamin C content and the consumed amount of citrus for the Vitamin C supply of fruit, potatoes, cabbage, spinach, and tomatoes is important.

Recommended intake is dependent on age

The recommended intake of Vitamin C is dependent on the age and the young age also depending on the gender. It is in infants and children up to four years is 20 mg per day and increases to 85 mg per day for 13 – to 15-Year-olds.

In male 15 – to 19-Year-old, the recommended intake according to DGE 105 mg per day, in females 90 mg per day. In adults, it is 110 mg per day for men and 95 mg for women. Pregnant and Nursing women, according to the professionals an increased demand, so the recommended intake is for Pregnant women, 105 mg and Breastfeeding 125 mg per day. And for smokers, there is a recommended intake per day of 135 mg for women and 155 mg for men is specified.

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These reference values for the intake of Vitamin C are slightly above the food away. The DGE stated, more than 155 mg of Vitamin C already in:

• half a red bell pepper (75 g) and a small glass of orange juice (125 ml); or:
• 200 g of boiled potatoes, 150 g spinach (steamed), and 1 Orange; or:
• 150 g Brussels sprouts (cooked), 1 Apple and 2 medium-sized tomatoes.

Complaints by Vitamin C in foods is unlikely

The contribution of the Mayo Clinic is that it is unlikely that too much Vitamin C in the diet is harmful. However, large doses of Vitamin C supplements can lead to health problems such as diarrhea, Nausea, vomiting, heartburn, abdominal cramps, headache, and insomnia.

In addition, there are some groups of people have of the DGE that there is an increased risk for harmful side effects due to an increased Vitamin-C intake. For this, kidney – damaged people, people with a predisposition to urinary or renal stones, or with disorders of utilization of dietary iron (haemochromatosis, Haemosiderosis, Thalassaemia major, etc.).

Too little Vitamin C can damage

As the public health portal of Austria’s “health.gv.at“ is stated, can lead to little Vitamin C, among other things, to fatigue, weakness, and bleeding gums.

In people under prolonged stress, strenuous exercise, alcohol and drug abuse, as well as various diseases like infections can also occur to an increased demand. According to the experts is a chronic Vitamin C deficiency is very rare (used to be: vitamin deficiency disease scurvy). (ad)

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