
7 benefits of Vitamin C
Look no further if you’re looking for a reason to start loading up on vitamin C. This essential nutrient has many health benefits, from boosting immunity to repairing tissue damage. Here are seven reasons to make sure you’re getting enough C: 1. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. This can help reduce cancer risk and chronic illnesses like heart disease. 2. Vitamin C is necessary to produce collagen, a protein that helps keep skin elastic and healthy. 3. Collagen also plays a role in wound healing, so getting enough vitamin C can help speed up the healing process. 4. Vitamin C can also help lower blood pressure by making the blood vessels less stiff and more flexible. Vitamin C supplements have been found to lower blood pressure in healthy adults and adults with high blood pressure. 5. Vitamin C can improve the absorption of poorly absorbed iron, such as iron from meat-free sources. It may also reduce the risk of iron deficiency. 6. Vitamin C may boost immunity by helping white blood cells function more effectively, strengthening your skin’s defense system, and helping wounds heal faster. 7. Vitamin C is needed to grow and repair body tissues. Vitamin C forms collagen, which is necessary for skin, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessel health.How to Get Your Daily Intake
Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients. Experts say it is water-soluble and found in many fruits and vegetables, including oranges, strawberries, kiwi fruit, bell peppers, broccoli, kale, and spinach. That’s how we consume about 90 percent of vitamin C. Not regularly eating these foods most often creates vitamin C deficiencies. Although vitamin c is naturally found in fresh fruits and vegetables, it isn’t so easy. Vitamin C is heat sensitive, and boiling or cooking can remove a food’s nutritional value. Food transit time and other factors could decrease vitamin C levels. While it’s commonly advised to get your vitamin C intake from foods, many people take supplements to meet their needs. Talk to your holistic doctor at your next visit about the benefits of vitamin C.About Author

Ava Bell-Taylor, M.D
Ava Bell-Taylor, M.D., originally from Atlanta, Georgia, received her Bachelor of Science degree from Spelman College. She later received her medical degree from Morehouse School of Medicine. She completed her Family Practice training at Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Georgia and her psychiatry residency at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Bell-Taylor has extensive post-graduate medical training in Functional, Integrative, and Anti-Aging Medicine. She is certified in Functional Medicine. Ava Bell-Taylor, M.D. is a holistic doctor with a focus on functional and integrative medicine. Combining functional medicine with her knowledge of conventional medicine has enabled Dr. Bell-Taylor to help many patients suffering from depression, anxiety, insomnia, attention-deficient, dementia, and eating disorders. Dr. Bell-Taylor specializes in functional medicine with a special emphasis on how hormone disorders, environmental factors, lifestyle choices, and nutritional deficiencies contribute to brain dysfunction, like depression, attention deficiency, anxiety, insomnia, dementia, and other chronic medical illnesses. Dr. Ava Bell- Taylor is the co-author with her husband, Eldred B, Taylor, M.D, of two must-read books, Are Your Hormone Making You Sick? and The Stress Connection: How Adrenal Gland Dysfunction Effects Your Health.