Vitamin C and Weight Loss

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that is necessary for normal growth and development. Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water. The body cannot store them. Leftover amounts of the vitamin leave the body through the urine. That means you need a continuous supply of such vitamins in your diet.

Vitamin supplements have often been used by serious bodybuilders to augment their physique, and improve their body's response to exercise. But they can also provide a way for those simply interested in losing weight to get faster, more healthy results.

Part of a natural weight loss plan is making sure that the foods that you eat are nutritious. Whenever you are on a diet you need to eat foods that are nutrient rich and that contain the optimum amount of vitamins and minerals. That is because you are not eating as much per day when you are dieting which also means that you are eating less food.

Recent research suggests that you might be more successful at weight loss if you eat more fresh citrus and other fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C. It's not that vitamin C is the new weight loss wonder drug, but the discovery that consuming an inadequate amount of the vitamin can hinder weight loss.

Probably the most interesting news from the scientific quarter is the study that suggests that vitamin C can help lower body fat levels, and that a deficiency in vitamin C may be linked to a gradual increase in body fat in people who aren't dieting. In the study, 20 obese men and women were either given a placebo or 500mg of vitamin C a day. All of the people in the study were put on a low fat diet.

Vitamin C is believed to work in fat oxidation because it is involved in the creation of the amino acid carnitine. Carnitine is involved in transporting fats in the body.

Vitamin C plays an important role in keeping your immune system working and operating properly. Not only that, but it helps to build up collagen and muscle in your body, as well as skin. Since it is an antioxidant, it plays a very important role at being a good defense against the damaging effects of free radicals in your body.

Vitamin C has been proven to a vital factor in causing the biosynthesis of a small protein-like molecule referred to as carnitine. It is this molecule which directs fat molecules to the area where fat oxidation occurs in tissue cells. The lack of fat molecules during this process of metabolism essential for generating energy leads to fatigue and exhaustion. Therefore a decrease in the levels of carnitine causes the accumulation of fat in tissues.

Vitamin C gives a range of health benefits including conversion of glucose to energy inside the cells. The various food sources are:

All fruits and vegetables contain some amount of vitamin C. Foods that tend to be the highest sources of vitamin C include green peppers, citrus fruits and juices, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, turnip greens and other leafy greens, sweet and white potatoes, and cantaloupe. Other excellent sources include papaya, mango, watermelon, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, winter squash, red peppers, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and pineapples.