How to supplement vitamin C? What is the difference between 2 yuan vitamin C and 98 yuan vitamin C? Doctor: Choose 2

Vitamin C is the hottest thing, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vitamin C supplements are running out of stock in pharmacies. Why? Because it has become common sense that vitamin C supplements can enhance immunity.

Can vitamin C really enhance immunity? First of all, vitamin C does have a certain effect in improving immunity, which can be seen from the reactions it participates in the human body. Vitamin C mainly participates in two reactions in the human body, one is participating in hydroxylation reaction, and the other is redox reaction. Through these two effects, vitamin C can not only mobilize the human immune system, but also prevent and treat scurvy, anti-oxidation, anti-aging, and promote iron absorption.

This is a review of the effects of vitamin C on human lymphocytes in the medical journal Antioxidants in February 2018: Vitamin C can promote the proliferation of T cells and NK cells and affect their cell functions. It promotes the formation of antibodies in the body, thereby enhancing the body's immune function.

Since vitamin C can improve immunity, does everyone need to supplement vitamin C? The answer is no.

Vitamin C can improve immunity, but it does not mean that supplementing vitamin C can improve immunity. Whether vitamin C supplementation is needed depends on whether there is a vitamin C deficiency.

In other words, a lack of vitamin C will lead to impaired immunity, and if there is no deficiency of vitamin C, no matter how much vitamin C you take, it will not enhance immunity.

According to the "Chinese Residents' Dietary Reference Intake", adults are recommended to take 100 mg of vitamin C per day, while pregnant women in the middle and late stages of pregnancy and nursing mothers are recommended to take a higher amount, 130 mg of vitamin C per day. Generally speaking, the maximum daily intake for adults should not exceed 2000 mg.

Normally, the main food source of vitamin C is fresh vegetables and fruits. If we eat one pound of vegetables and half a pound of fruits every day, we can take in about 100-300 mg of vitamin C. In other words, we can get enough vitamin C by eating enough vegetables and fruits, and no additional supplement is needed.

Which is better, dietary supplements or medications for vitamin C? Theoretically, both dietary supplements and oral medications can allow people to obtain sufficient vitamin C, but we recommend supplementing it through the normal intake of natural vitamin C in fruits and vegetables. Because when we consume fruits and vegetables, we not only consume vitamin C, but also supplement carotenoids, anthocyanins, dietary fiber and other substances, which can better promote the absorption of vitamin C and thus improve immunity. In addition, the natural vitamin C in fruits and vegetables is also rich in phenolic bioactive substances, which can enhance the antioxidant activity of vitamin C, thereby achieving better results.

Of course, some people don’t like to eat vegetables and fruits, and eat meat and fish every day. If they do this for a long time, they will lack vitamin C. At this time, they need to supplement it through oral vitamins. But when you walk into a pharmacy, you will find that vitamin C costs 2 yuan a bottle and 98 yuan a bottle. Which one should you choose?

What is the difference between 2 yuan vitamin C and 100 yuan vitamin C?

Why are the prices of vitamin C so different?

The left side of the picture is a health product, and the right side is a medicine. There is a big difference between the two.

The vitamin C on the right has "National Medicine Approval Number: XXXX, and those with the OTC logo are over-the-counter drugs. According to national regulations, it must be safe and effective even if it is sold for 1 cent.

The one on the left is a food, or a health food. As long as its ingredients are safe, no one cares if it is sold for 1,000 yuan. Someone may ask, do they have the same ingredients? The answer is no. The 2 yuan vitamin C tablet on the right contains vitamin C, while the 98 yuan health food on the left contains maltodextrin, orange flavor, silicon dioxide, tartrazine and other additives to make it chewable. These additives do not help you at all except to make the taste slightly better and make you slightly fatter.

So, compared with vitamin C that costs 2 yuan, the expensive thing about the 98 yuan vitamin C is not the vitamin C content or the absorption effect, but the IQ tax!

It is best to eat more fruits and vegetables in daily life. If you must take vitamin C orally, choose the cheapest one. As for those health supplements that cost around 100 yuan, there is no need to pay the IQ tax for them after reading this article!