Ascorbic acid –
the scientific name for pure Vitamin C – has been shown to support a vast
number of immune mechanisms in your body. For example, your white blood cells
are an important component of your immune system. You have several different
types of white blood cell, each of which helps to fight off illness-causing
viruses and bacteria in a different way. Vitamin C helps to stimulate both the
production and function of many of these types of white blood cells. It also
helps your body to produce important antibodies: proteins that bind invading
microbes to neutralise them. And Vitamin C’s powerful antioxidant properties
help to protect certain white blood cells from the toxic compounds they produce
in their fight against pathogens. In other words, Vitamin C is an essential
nutrient for healthy immune system response.
Vitamin C - Strengthens the immune system in 20
different ways
Vitamin C, also
known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin essential for the normal growth and repair of
connective tissue, namely, bone, cartilage, blood vessels and skin.
It is a key for a strong and well-functioning immune.
Here's how:
1.
Vitamin C supports the production of
interferons.
Interferons are produced when the
presence of pathogens is detected.
They facilitate the ability of cells to
initiate protective cellular defenses.
2.
Vitamin C enhances the function of
phagocytes.
Phagocytes are a kind of white blood
cell that surrounds pathogens and other dangerous particles. Once the intruders
are captured, they are digested and neutralized enzymatically.
3.
Vitamin C is mainly found in white blood
cells.
Some of these primary cells of the
immune system have levels of vitamin C up to 80 times higher than the levels
found in the plasma.
4.
Vitamin C supports the cellular immune
response.
There are 2 main ways that the body can
respond to a pathogen: antibody immunity and cellular immunity. The
cell-mediated response refers to the activation of macrophages, natural killer
cells, and antigen-specific T-lymphocytes that attack anything that is
perceived as a foreign agent.
5.
Vitamin C enhances cytokine production
by white blood cells.
Cytokines are communication proteins
released from certain white blood cells and transmit information to other
cells, thus promoting the immune response.
6.
Vitamin C inhibits the apoptosis of
various forms of T-lymphocytes.
T-lymphocytes are a type of white blood
cell. They are an integral part of the cell-mediated immune defense system.
Vitamin C helps to keep these important cells alive and viable.
7.
Vitamin C enhances the production of
nitrogen oxide by phagocytes.
Nitrogen oxide is produced in massive
quantities in these cells, and is one of the factors that will kill captured
pathogens.
8.
Vitamin C enhances the production of
T-lymphocytes.
These cells are essential for
cell-mediated immune responses, and vitamin C helps to multiply in number.
9.
Vitamin C increases the production of B
lymphocytes.
These white blood cells produce the
antibodies as part of the antibody-mediated immune response. These antibodies
are formed in response to the initial introduction of an invading pathogen or
antigen.
10.
Vitamin C inhibits the production of
neuraminidase.
Some pathogenic viruses and bacteria
create neuraminidase, an enzyme that keeps them from being trapped in the
mucus, one of the natural lines of body defense. By inhibiting neuraminidase,
vitamin C helps to optimize this defense mechanism of the body.
11.
Vitamin C supports the production and
activity of antibodies.
Good antibody function is important for
a healthy immune system.
12.
Vitamin C supports the activity of
natural killer cells.
Natural killer cells are small
lymphocytes that can attack directly cells, such as cancer cells, and kill them
13.
Vitamin C favors the formation of
prostaglandins.
Prostaglandins are hormones - compounds
that control a variety of physiological processes, including regulation of
T-cell function.
14.
Vitamin C supports circular GMP levels
in lymphocytes.
Circular GMP plays a leading role in
regulating various physiological responses, including immune responses.
Circular GMP is important for normal reproduction and differentiation
(specificity for specific purposes) of cells. Circular GMP also controls the
action of many hormones, and appears to mediate relaxation of smooth muscle.
15.
Vitamin C supports localized production
and / or interaction with hydrogen peroxide.
Vitamin C and hydrogen peroxide can kill
microorganisms and can dissolve the protective granules of certain bacteria,
such as pneumococci.
16.
A lesser known property of vitamin C is
that it inhibits histamine.
This effect of vitamin C is important
for supporting the immune to local factors.
17. Vitamin
C neutralizes oxidative stress.
18.
Vitamin C improves and enhances the
immune response achieved by vaccination.
19.
Vitamin C enhances the mucolytic effect.
This property helps to fluidize fatty
secretions, increasing immune access to infection.
20.
Vitamin C can make bacterial membranes
more permeable to some antibiotics.
Vitamin C is an ardent supporter of
healthy immune function.
The immune system depends to a
significant extent on the intake of nutrients!
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps prevent and treat the
common cold.
Many infections lead to the activation
of phagocytes, which in turn release oxidizing agents, also known as active
forms of oxygen (ROS).
Vitamin C deficiency can lead to reduced resistance to certain
pathogens, while a higher supply strengthens various parameters of the immune
system.
♦ Regular
administration of vitamin C has shortened the duration of the common
cold! ♦
