What Is Vitamin C And What Is Its Function In The Body?

Vitamin C, like all other vitamins, is an organic chemical that is needed by the body in small amounts. Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin that is needed for growth of health skin and a resilient immune system.

When the body is very short of vitamin C, a disease called scurvy develops. This was common in sailors of 200 or 300 years ago. When a ship set sail on a long voyage, it was impossible to take fresh fruit of vegetables and the sailors survived on dry bread and salted meat. After a few weeks, they started to develop boils on their skin and ulcers in their mouths as their skin broke down.

Vitamin C is found in most fresh fruits and vegetables but is particularly high in citrus fruits. When doctors realise why sailors were getting ill with scurvy, they recommended that ships had a supply of vitamin C in the form of lemons or lemon juice. This prevented the sailors from getting scurvy until they reached their destination.

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