Vitamin C Also Helps Protect Your Bones

Published on January 1, 2021

Video Friday: Why ASCORBATE VITAMIN C is such a VITAL nutrient for those with OSTEOPOROSIS by Dr. Susan Brown of BetterBones.com

Vitamin C has many roles within the body that help keep us healthy – probably its most well-known being its role within the immune system to help fight infections and enhance the immune response. We have previously discussed how vitamin C has been shown to help improve cold symptoms, how it may work with vitamin D to help prevent the flu and improve the vitamin D dose response, and even how vitamin C intake improved breast cancer outcomes.

Did you know that vitamin C is also essential for bone health?

Vitamin C is needed for the proper formation of collagen – a protein that provides structural support in connective tissues and is the foundation of bone. In fact, you may know that scurvy, severe deficiency of vitamin C, causes bleeding gums, loose teeth and poor wound healing. These symptoms are due to vitamin C’s role in connective tissue.

Dr. Susan Brown of BetterBones.com explains the importance of vitamin C for bone health in this quick, informational video.

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After watching the video, be sure to make note of our added details below!

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The Vitamin C You May be Taking for Your Immune Health Could Also be Strengthening Your Bones!

Here is a quick summary of what this video discusses, along with additional information and details from GrassrootsHealth:

Studies have noted that a higher intake of vitamin C, through foods or supplements, have been associated with better bone health and fewer fractures.
Vitamin C prevents scurvy at much lower intakes, similar to how a small amount of vitamin D prevents most cases of rickets.
Higher amounts of vitamin C intake directly relate to bone health! See how different intakes of a single nutrient can have different system-specific actions within the body.
Vitamin C (ascorbate) is the most abundant and important water-soluble antioxidant found in every cell of the human body. Since osteoporosis is largely due to oxidative damage, our bone cells need strong antioxidants for protection from oxidative damage.
Not only does vitamin C provide protection from oxidative damage, it also stimulates osteoblasts (bone builders) and calms osteoclasts (cells that break bone down), leading to the generation of stronger bones.
Vitamin C has powerful anti-inflammatory actions, and helps to regulate the immune system.
Vitamin C is a substrate for the production of many compounds within the body, including certain neurotransmitters, amino acids, and hormones (such as anti-stress hormones).

How safe is vitamin C?

Vitamin C supplementation is extremely safe. Doses of vitamin C up to 10 grams per day (10,000 mg/d) have been provided without causing any toxic or detrimental health effects. The tolerable upper intake level (UL) for vitamin C was set at 2,000 mg/d to prevent symptoms of diarrhea and gastrointestinal upset. These side effects can be minimized and absorption increased by dividing vitamin C doses over the course of a day and/or by gradually increasing the dose to bowel tolerance (increase the vitamin C dose by 500-1,000 mg/d until loose stools are encountered then reduce the dose slightly).

Getting Enough Vitamin C Works Hand-in-Hand with Getting Enough of Other Important Nutrients

How are your levels of vitamin D, omega-3s, and other important nutrients for health? By joining the GrassrootsHealth projects, you are not only contributing valuable information to our study, but you are also gaining knowledge about how you could improve your own health through measuring and tracking your nutrient status, and educating yourself on how to improve it. Do you know what your status of vitamin D, omega-3s, and other essential nutrients is? Could your levels be improved? Test now to find out!

We now have a NEW GIFTING SERVICE that allows you to quickly send ‘Gift Cards’ to friends, family and coworkers who you consider might need immediate access to testing, and to Claim the Joy of Your Health TODAY. Give the gift today!

What does the Research Say about Vitamin D & COVID-19?

It’s TIME to start saving lives! If you can help PREVENT the majority of the death, it’s time! What’s it costing you/us not to take action NOW?

There is much published research that supports a clear link between vitamin D and COVID-19 showing that higher vitamin D levels are related to:

a decreased risk of testing positive for COVID-19

increased viral SARS-CoV-2 RNA clearance

better clinical outcomes among patients with COVID-19

less severe COVID-19 disease

decreased risk of death due to COVID-19

Be sure to educate yourself on the benefits and importance of vitamin D for immune health, and take steps to ensure you and your loved ones are getting enough.

You can review all of the COVID-19 and immune health information we have shared on this page.

How Can You Use this Information for YOUR Health?

Having and maintaining healthy vitamin D and other nutrient levels can help improve your health now and for your future. Measuring is the only way to make sure you are getting enough!

STEP 1 Order your at-home blood spot test kit to measure vitamin D and other nutrients of concern to you, such as omega-3s, magnesium, essential and toxic elements (zinc, copper, selenium, lead, cadmium, mercury); include hsCRP as a marker of inflammation or HbA1c for blood sugar health

STEP 2 Answer the online questionnaire as part of the GrassrootsHealth study

STEP 3 Using our educational materials and tools (such as our dose calculators), assess your results to determine if you are in your desired target range or if actions should be taken to get there

STEP 4 After 3-6 months of implementing your changes, re-test to see if you have achieved your target level(s)

Enroll in D*action and Build Your Custom Test Kit!