It properly won’t come as a surprise that eating too much fatty food is unhealthy. Fatty acids, cholesterol, and other waste products can, over the years, accumulate in the blood vessels and result in cardiovascular diseases.
More surprising to some is that vitamin C could play an important role in fighting and preventing these diseases. Research indicates that vitamin C could maintain and promote the growth of important cells in the blood vessels.
Vitamin C in the specialised cells
On the inside of the body’s blood vessels is a layer of specialised cells. These are called ‘endotel cells’. They are important and have multiple functions. Besides dilating and contracting the blood vessels, they also make sure that the blood doesn’t dry out.
If the endotel cells are damaged, blood will more easily coagulate eventually resulting in blood clots. Supplying the organs with blood also becomes more problematic, and this can result in inflammation-like conditions within the blood vessel.
Vitamin C has been proven to influence the endotel cells’ ability to remain functional. Since vitamin C can promote the growth rate of new cells when these cells are getting damaged.
Vitamin C for the muscle cells
It is not only the endotel cells within the blood vessels that benefit from vitamin C. Farther outside the vessels lay the smooth muscle cells, and they have the ability to reprogram themselves and repair the damaged vessels. This type of reprogramming in aided by vitamin C.
When blood vessels are damaged, the muscle cells move to the damaged area and secrete a protein, capable of repairing the blood vessel. Among these is the protein Collagen, which one might recognise from beauty products. Collagen helps to promote a quick wound healing.
The proteins’ repair is especially important in cardiovascular diseases, because they prevent the layer of waste from forming into a clot. It is therefore important to ingest plenty of vitamin C.
Great sources of vitamin C
It is recommended that adult men and women get 75 mg of vitamin C daily. This is the equivalent of half a sweet pepper every day. Or a whole kiwi fruit. Especially vegetables and fruits like rose hip, sweet pepper, blackcurrant, broccoli, and kiwi are high in vitamin C content. Potatoes are also a great source of vitamin C. In other words, getting sufficient vitamin C isn’t difficult. And since the vitamin is soluble in water, the excess is passed through along with urine.
Maybe more important than we believe
Vitamin C may have more functions than we believe. For example, they are active participants in the blood vessels’ health and aid them in functioning optimally. However, especially the vitamin’s ability to prevent and treat damage to blood vessels could prove more valuable than we believe. Therefore, a group of researchers from the University of Copenhagen will study the vitamin’s role in muscle cells’ ability to reprogram themselves for the next three years.
