How many times have you heard me say that the quality of food can make a difference on our state of health and this is because the hundreds of bioactives contained in the foods we eat perform a modulating action which is essential for the proper functioning of our body system.
I’m talking not only about macronutrients, but also and above all about micronutrients such as vitamin C or ascorbic acid, a bioactive essential for the well-being not only of our cells, but also of our Microbiota and the immune system. And yes, because this compound interacts with the intestinal submucosa where the lymph node stations are located, creating a direct connection with the immune functions.
Decades of research have shown that vitamin C is an essential component of immune cell function and has a specific role in many immune system mechanisms. Not surprisingly, people with severe vitamin C deficiency can develop not only an acute form of scurvy, but are highly susceptible to a variety of infections, including pneumonia. It is now known that vitamin C improves the motility of neutrophils and the elimination of microbes, activating reactive oxygen species and inducing apoptosis, and prevents oxidative damage thanks to its antioxidant properties.
But its collaboration with the immune system does not end there, because it also promotes the proliferation of B and T lymphocytes and the production of antibodies and prevents the synthesization of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6, which causes damage to lungs. In short, we are not talking about a substance that helps us only in the case of a common cold, but a micronutrient that can really make a difference in our ability to react and contrast a pathogen of a different entity.
On a popular level, the most recognized quality of vitamin C is its antioxidant. In fact, this vitamin is able to imprison reactive molecules such as the well known oxygen radicals that cause oxidative stress: the unstable oxygen molecules, perpetually looking for another electron to merge with, begin to afflict the cellular tissues of the body causing various damages in their structure.
With advancing age, free radicals tend to accumulate more easily in a person’s body, finding the ideal conditions to multiply and this thanks to the decline in immune defenses and antioxidant systems. The problem is that an increase in the amount of oxygen, in areas where it shouldn’t be very concentrated, causes chain reactions that destabilize biological structures, such as cell walls, proteins, fats and so on.
So what does ascorbic acid do? It imprisons free radicals before they can cause trouble: in this way it manages to maintain a very low level of oxidation of the tissues and prevents their degradation. Fantastic! These properties would be enough to convince us to consume foods that naturally contain this compound on a daily basis. The problem is that most of the food we consume is very poor in this vitamin, partly because industrial processing tends to eliminate it completely and partly because, being a thermolabile and photolabile vitamin, it tends to inactivate itself very quickly even in foods. fresh. Hence the need to quickly consume the foods that contain it (for example, the orange must be squeezed and drunk instantly and the juice obtained cannot be preserved).
The antioxidant action of vitamin C is also revealed in the intestinal tissues where the gigantic microbial population that constitutes our Microbiota resides. Most people complain of dysfunctions of the gastrointestinal system with symptoms ranging from gastroesophageal reflux to spastic colitis, from intestinal swelling to obstinate constipation, all pathological conditions that reveal a state of chronic intestinal dysbiosis.
The fact is that conditions of intestinal inflammation and dysbiosis are often accompanied by an unbalanced oxidation state as well. In these cases intestinal pathogenic strains produce molecules that promote inflammation which in turn induces intestinal cells to emit signals that increase the level of oxidation of the tissue.
A vicious circle that in the long run can weaken the intestinal barrier and make it porous. I’m talking about “leaky gut,” one pathological condition that allows harmful molecules to move from the intestinal lumen into the bloodstream, triggering an inflammatory reaction that from localized can also become systemic.
Intestinal permeability, commonly called “porous intestine”, indicates that pathological cracks are formed between the cells of the intestinal walls of the small intestine (small intestine), this means that badly digested food and other toxins can penetrate the bloodstream, through they. When undigested foods arrive in the body, the immune system launches an attack on these “strangers” causing in turn sensitivity and allergies. The release of antibodies triggers inflammation reactions (increases in IgE and chemical mediators) when food is eaten again. Chronic inflammation lowers IgA levels.
Sufficient levels of IgA are needed to protect the intestinal tract from clostridia and yeasts. The decrease in IgA levels allows further microbial proliferation in the intestinal tract, increasing dysbiosis, but not only because, due to the porous intestine, deficiencies in vitamins and minerals have also been observed. Here then a vicious circle is established again that leads to the deficiency of this fundamental vitamin as well. But it does not end there, because even chronic stress is the enemy of vitamin C, as it increases its consumption by our body which can become deficient.
In these cases it is advisable to take it through supplements, under the supervision of an expert. Think that the amount of ascorbic acid that can be taken orally without causing diarrhea, when you are sick, can be 10 times greater than the amount you would tolerate when you are well.
This phenomenon of increased intestinal tolerance makes us understand how high the level of use of ascorbate by our body actually is, when it is subjected to stressful conditions.
This is why vitamin C intake should be increased in times of severe psychophysical stress. If we do not fully satisfy the massive need to replenish our body’s scarce reserves of ascorbate, a subclinical condition of “anascorbemia” ensues, which exposes us more to infections. The greater the stress, the greater the body’s demand for vitamin C.
When a person is ill, the amount of ascorbic acid that he can ingest without producing diarrhea increases more or less in proportion to the toxicity of the disease.
The quantity and the right time to take the doses are generally very subjective and this by virtue of one of the basic principles of orthomolecular medicine: biochemical individuality. Each individual responds differently to various substances.
Vitamin C is no exception. However, at least 80% of people tolerate ascorbic acid quite well, with a clarification: infants, children and young people tolerate it better and can take it, in proportion to their body weight, in greater quantities than adults. .
In any case, whatever the age of the person to be treated, the studies on vitamin C are confirming its complementary role not only in the prevention of diseases, but also in the contrast of various pathologies such as: hepatitis, mononucleosis, arthritis, candidiasis, allergies , eczema, urticaria, herpes up to psychosomatic and psychological alterations.
In short, nature as always gives us, through its fruits, all the tools to keep us healthy. It is enough to know how to introduce them in our daily diet.
In the case of vitamin C, the richest foods are certainly fresh fruit and vegetables: citrus fruits, pineapple, grapes, guava, papaya, kiwi, strawberries, cherries; vegetables such as lettuce, radicchio, spinach; vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers; tubers such as new potatoes, but also hot peppers and parsley.
Goji and Acerola berries and algae such as Spirulina, Klamath and Chlorella are very rich. The choice is wide, but whatever yours (extract, juice, juice, salad, fruit salad), each food must be consumed strictly raw and fresh, to avoid that cooking or industrial processing can degrade this precious substance with multiple therapeutic properties and nutritional.