Why Vitamin C?
Vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin, is a name you may hear most often in the cooler months. Best known for strengthening immunity, this high-antioxidant vitamin does so much more for your body. So why should we pay special attention to vitamin C in the colder season?
Helps strengthen immunity: Because of its high antioxidant power, it's true that vitamin C helps strengthen immunity. In the cooler months especially — with the cold and more time spent indoors — our risk of catching colds and flu-like infections rises. While research shows vitamin C doesn't directly prevent a cold, it's a vitamin that's genuinely effective at easing the symptoms those infections bring.
For better skin quality: As the weather cools and skin dries out, protecting its elasticity becomes more important than ever. Alongside plenty of water, getting the right amount of vitamin C — which supports collagen production — helps improve your skin quality. Vitamin C matters year-round for youthful skin, but if you notice a visible dip in your skin's quality during the cooler months, it's well worth paying attention to your intake.
Protective against stress: In the cooler months, hazy, cold days and less sunshine can make us more prone to low mood, and those depressive feelings can raise stress in the body. Yet adequate vitamin C is genuinely effective at helping reduce that stress. If you feel your energy dropping and your stress rising in the colder season, it's worth reviewing your vitamin C intake.
Helps balance blood sugar: In cooler weather, the body needs more energy to regulate its temperature, which can sometimes make appetite harder to control. But when you get enough vitamin C, you don't need to worry about balancing your blood sugar — vitamin C helps steady it and curb your appetite, offering its support against sudden hunger and sweet cravings.
Supports wound healing: Being more active in the cooler months is a wish many of us share — yet fear of slipping on ice or snow can keep us cooped up indoors or away from winter sports. As long as we get enough vitamin C, though, there's less to fear, because this collagen-supporting vitamin helps with wound healing just as it helps our skin.
For shortness of breath: The cooler months can be trying for those with shortness of breath or asthma. But research shows that, through its antioxidant and antihistamine effects, vitamin C is quite helpful in easing shortness of breath. Alongside the medications your doctor prescribes, getting the vitamin C you need means the cooler months needn't become a struggle to breathe.
Protective against cancer: It should come as no surprise that a vitamin with such high antioxidant power offers protection against cancer. By helping protect cell structure, vitamin C shows a protective effect against many cancers, particularly lung and ovarian cancer.
Vitamin C is water-soluble, but it has low resistance to heat and light. It's found in foods like oranges, lemons, grapefruit, strawberries, mandarins, rosehip, red pepper, kiwi and parsley. If your intake is insufficient, be sure to speak with your doctor and dietitian for advice on supplementation.