Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is probably the most preached about vitamin. People take Vitamin C for everything from preventing or beating colds to curing cancer, when in actuality, studies haven't been able to prove that it helps with any of those things. Over 30 clinical trials of more than 10,000 participants have shown that people who take Vitamin C for cold symptoms see little to no improvement. Of course, I still do it. Whenever I get a cold, I immediately down 2 quarts of Dole pineapple-orange-banana juice to try and blast it away. And I always swear that it works, although I'm probably just drunk on juice and forgot about my cold. :)
What they do know is that Vitamin C is necessary to build collagen in your bones, cartilage, muscles and blood vessels, and it aids in the absorption of iron.
Vitamin C deficiency causes the disease, scurvy, which I always thought was a disease that only pirates got. While it's rare nowadays, scurvy was very common hundreds of years ago. Any place that lacked access to fresh fruits and vegetables was susceptible, especially sailors, who would be out to sea for months or years at a time. The first recorded case of scurvy was by the Greek doctor, Hippocrates in 400 BC. Centuries later, people suspected the lack of fresh food to be the cause, however, the first study to determine this wasn't until 1747, by British Royal Navy surgeon, Jonathan Lind. While out at sea, he gave some sailors on the ship two lemons and an orange everyday, in addition to their normal diet and compared them to those who hadn't had the citrus. He noticed a dramatic decrease in scurvy symptoms by those sailors who had consumed the citrus fruits. By 1795, it was common practice for the British Navy to give it's sailors lime juice to prevent the disease.
*Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin
SOURCES: chili peppers, guava, parsley, kiwi, broccoli, brussels sprouts, papaya, strawberries, oranges, lemon, kale, cauliflower, canteloupe, garlic, grapefruit, tangerines, raspberries, spinach, lime, mango, blackberries
The US National Academy of Sciences recommends 60-95 mg/day of Vitamin C
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