10 signs of vitamin C deficiency

Easy bruising, bleeding under the nails, bleeding gums, slow-healing wounds… these are warning signs that your body is deficient in vitamin C.

Everyone needs to supplement their daily vitamin C intake through their diet because the body cannot synthesize this vitamin on its own. The recommended daily intake of vitamin C for adult men and women is approximately 100 mg per day.

According to Dr. Nguyen Anh Duy Tung, a specialist at Nutrihome Nutrition Clinic System, consuming less vitamin C than recommended can lead to abnormal symptoms. However, not all symptoms are easy to recognize.

Aching limbs : The joints of the hands and feet contain a lot of connective tissue rich in collagen. Meanwhile, a vitamin C deficiency negatively affects the formation of collagen in the joints, thus making the limbs more prone to aching.

A vitamin C deficiency can cause rough skin. Photo: Freepik

Rough skin : Vitamin C plays a key role in the production of collagen, a protein that makes up the connective tissues in the skin. Therefore, a deficiency in vitamin C can easily cause the skin to lose its natural elasticity, becoming aged, sagging, and rough.

Slow wound healing: A lack of vitamin C slows down collagen production in the skin, causing wounds to heal more slowly. Furthermore, in severe cases of vitamin C deficiency, an old, healed wound may reopen, increasing the risk of infection.

Subungual hemorrhage: Vitamin C deficiency can also cause unusual red spots or streaks to appear on the fingernails and toenails due to weakened blood vessels rupturing. This phenomenon is called subungual hemorrhage.

Follicular hemorrhage: Hair follicles on the skin's surface contain many small blood vessels that supply blood and essential nutrients for hair growth. When the body lacks vitamin C, the strength of the walls of these blood vessels is weakened, making them prone to rupture, forming red hemorrhagic spots just beneath the hair follicle.

Skin bruises easily: The elasticity of blood vessels is severely reduced when the body is deficient in vitamin C. Therefore, even a slight bump can easily cause bleeding in the capillaries under the skin, resulting in bruising.

Increased susceptibility to colds and fevers: Vitamin C strengthens the immune system by stimulating the migration of neutrophils to the site of infection and producing antioxidants to kill bacteria. Therefore, inappropriate vitamin C supplementation weakens the immune system, increasing the risk of infectious diseases such as colds, fevers, ear, nose, and throat infections.

Increased risk of weight gain: With the same physical exercise, people who consume sufficient vitamin C can easily burn 30% more fat than those who consume less of this vitamin. Therefore, a vitamin C deficiency makes you more prone to accumulating excess fat and gaining weight faster than average.

Fatigue: Vitamin C helps the body synthesize norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that temporarily increases heart rate and blood pressure. Therefore, a lack of vitamin C causes heart rate and blood pressure to drop, triggering a range of feelings of depression, restlessness, and unwarranted anxiety in the brain.

Bleeding gums: Vitamin C deficiency weakens the collagen fibers that bind the periodontal ligaments, weakening the gum tissue and making it easier for infections (periodontitis) to form, leading to bleeding gums.

Dr. Duy Tung added that not all cases of vitamin C deficiency have the same symptoms. To accurately determine if your body is deficient in vitamin C, you need to undergo micronutrient testing. Currently, the UPLC high-performance liquid chromatography system is used to measure the levels of micronutrients in the body at the lowest level (nanograms/ml of blood). From there, doctors can advise on building a suitable nutritional plan for the patient.

Hiep Huynh

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/10-dau-hieu-thieu-vitamin-c-4624985.html