COVID-19: Immune-Boosting with Vitamin C
Your body needs vitamin C to make new immune cells, especially the kind that gobble up viruses. Green chilis & leafy veggies have lots:
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Day 8 of 14
Immune Support with Vitamin C
Today’s recipe combines a few different sources of vitamin C:
Rainbow Detox Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette from Ambitious Kitchen
Sprinkle a diced green chili pepper on your serving for an extra vitamin C boost! 1 green chili pepper gives you 109mg of vitamin C !
2 servings of this recipe gets you within the 200-400mg/day range that researchers recommend for optimal immune system support.
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What is Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is another vitamin that plays an important role in the immune system
Your body uses Vitamin C to build its soldiers (cells) , especially the types of cells that are on the front line, that swallow up viruses and bacteria and destroy them.
Vitamin C also protects your body from the bombs (reactive oxygen species) that the soldier cells drop on the invading virus.
Kale and bright peppers like sweet yellow peppers, red bell peppers, green chili peppers have the highest amounts of Vitamin C. Fruits like acerola cherries, kiwi, strawberries and oranges also pack vitamin C punches of around 50mg or higher per serving.
Studies suggest that taking vitamin C supplements is most helpful in preventing the common cold in people who have experienced strenuous exercise, but it might cut down on the duration of symptoms in the general public if taken regularly.
Researchers recommend that people eat anywhere from 200mg - 400mg/day of vitamin C for immune support.
This is more than 2 times higher than the daily level recommended by the US government (National Institutes of Health)- 75mg/day for women and 90mg/day for men
Vitamin C is especially important for people with physiologic stress, especially cigarette smokers and people undergoing strenuous physical activity.
People who smoke cigarettes have an increased level of inflammation and need an extra 35mg/day of vitamin C.