Benefits of Whole Food Vit C
Whole food vitamin C is an essential nutrient for our hormone and metabolic health. It works alongside other minerals to run various metabolic processes that keep our body in a state of homeostasis. From our thyroid health to our immune system, we need ample vitamin C in order to support a strong mineral foundation and metabolic resiliency. However, there is a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to supplementing with Vitamin C so we’re going to break it down in this post.
Ascorbic Acid versus Whole Food Vit C
Most Vitamin C supplements and products are ascorbic acid based which is an isolated part of the whole food vitamin C complex. Think of it like the shell of the car without the engine, battery, and radiator that actually make the car usable.
Ascorbic acid based supplements generally contain a high mg amount, as we have subscribed to this notion that we need high amounts of vitmain C for our immune health. However, that high ascorbic acid actually disrupts copper metabolism. This is problematic because copper is vital for harnessing oxygen for cellular energy, neutralizing oxidative stress, and enables other minerals to be used in order to support metabolic processes including the immune system. So ingesting tons of ascorbic acid like emergency packets, poor quality electrolyte powders, and multivitamins, can actually be causing more harm that good when it comes to your immune health and metabolic system.
Whole food vitamin C is a nutrient complex that contains a multitude of important compounds that make it usable and supportive in the body. The way nature designed it to be!
Benefits of Whole Food Vitamin C
Adrenal + Glandular health: Our adrenals secrete vitamin C in response to stress. Our stress hormones, like cortisol and adrenaline, are also regulated by vitamin C. Potassium and sodium are essential electrolytes that also help to support our adrenal health and response which are better absorbed and used when there’s sufficient vitamin C (hello Adrenal Cocktails!).
Thyroid Health: Vitamin C contains a copper ion, tyrosinase, at its core. Tyrosinase contains tyrosines that are loaded with iodine which of course help to support proper thyroid function. Vitamin C also helps to support and regulate TPO (thyroid peroxidase) which is an enzyme that oxidizes iodine ions to form iodine atoms that help to produce and regulate T4 and T3.
Antioxidant & Immune System: Vitamin C will work alongside powerful antioxidants that help to combat oxidative stress and strengthen the immune system. Zinc and Vitamin C synergistically boost the immune response, helping the body better defend against infections, colds, and other illnesses. Vitamin C supports zinc’s role in immune cell activity, while zinc helps activate immune system proteins. Just like Vitamin C, we need to source Zinc from a whole food source which is why I recommend Zincerola from Perfect Supplements. Vitamin C also helps to better absorb and utilize zinc from foods and supplements.
Tissue Repair + Nervous System: Vitamin C, alongside Copper, helps to strengthen collagen, support bone health, and wound healing. If you tend to bruise easily or don’t recover well from injuries, it could be a sign of low vitamin C and bioavailable copper. Vitamin C also helps to support the structure of our neurons.
While of course we want to source vitamin C through food, it can be difficult to get adequate amounts due to the nature of our food system. The quality of soil, processing, traveling long distances, and time spent from when it was harvested to purchased; reduces the mineral and vitamin content significantly. This is why it’s so important to try and consume produce that is in season and local, this is the best way to get the most vitamin and mineral content!
Outside of diet, I do personally use and recommend a whole food vitamin C supplement. This can be helpful to ensure you get ample vitamin C, especially in the winter when our produce availability shifts. I opt for a powder so that I can easily add it to Adrenal Cocktails, my water, mineral drinks, and sometimes even baked goods!
High Vitamin C sources include Camu Camu, Acerola Cherry, and kakadu plum. Products I would recommend can be found here!