Vitamin C supplements are a great and simple way to boost your vitamin C intake if you struggle to get enough from your diet.
Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that can boost your blood antioxidant levels. This may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease.
Vitamin C supplements have been found to lower blood pressure in both healthy adults and those with high blood pressure.
Unproven claims about vitamin C
While vitamin C has many scientifically proven benefits, it also has many unfounded claims supported by either weak evidence or no evidence at all.
Here are some unproven claims about vitamin C:
- Prevents the common cold. While vitamin C appears to reduce the severity of colds and recovery time by 8% in adults and 14% in children, it does not prevent them (37).
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Reduces cancer risk. A handful of studies have linked vitamin C intake to a lower risk of several cancers. However, most studies have found that vitamin C does not affect the risk of developing cancer (
38Trusted Source ). -
Protects against eye disease. Vitamin C has been linked to reduced risks of eye diseases like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. However, vitamin C supplements have no effect or may even cause harm (
39Trusted Source ,40Trusted Source ,41Trusted Source ). -
May treat lead toxicity. Although people with lead toxicity appear to have low vitamin C levels, there is no strong evidence from human studies that show vitamin C can treat lead toxicity (
42Trusted Source ).
The bottom line
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that must be obtained from the diet or supplements.
It has been linked to many impressive health benefits, such as boosting antioxidant levels, lowering blood pressure, protecting against gout attacks, improving iron absorption, boosting immunity, and reducing heart disease and dementia risk.
Overall, vitamin C supplements are a great and simple way to boost your vitamin C intake if you struggle to get enough from your diet.
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