What does early Vitamin C deficiency feel like? NL-081

Mostly known for its ability to boost your immunity, vitamin C also keeps your heart and bones healthy, helps in wound healing and keeps your skin looking young and supple because of its powerful antioxidant properties and its critical role in collagen synthesis and repair. Vitamin C plays many important roles in the body, for example, in iron absorption, folic acid synthesis, amino acid synthesis, tissue repair, production of various neurotransmitters and stress regulation. 

We can't make our own vitamin C and must get it either from food or supplements. While eating a healthy and well-balanced diet with a strong emphasis on including fresh fruits and vegetables is usually the best way to get healthy amounts of vitamin C that you need, the modern trend of consuming highly processed food will put you at a high risk of developing vitamin C deficiency. In addition, age, smoking, heavy drinking, restrictive diets, food allergies, eating disorders, protein deficiency and thyroid disorders are additional risk factors. 

Recurring fevers and infections, chronic stress, inflammation, diarrhoea, surgery, and burns also increase the demand for vitamin C in the body, leading to its depletion and deficiency. Pregnant and breastfeeding women also have to be extra careful about their vitamin C intake. Certain health conditions such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis also lead to a shortage in the body due to absorption issues. 

What do early signs of Vitamin C deficiency look like? In most adults, the deficiency may take weeks or months to develop, but some early symptoms may present as vague pains and aches in the muscles, general weakness, loss of appetite, joint pain and irritability. Since you need vitamin C for iron absorption, low levels can cause iron deficiency anaemia with symptoms such as shortness of breath, excessive sleepiness, headaches and fatigue. Weakened immunity and frequent infections are another signs that you need to improve your vitamin C status. 

Chronic deficiency in vitamin C can lead to scurvy, a condition where the tissues become fragile and begin to fall apart. This results in symptoms such as slow and delayed wound healing, swollen legs and ankles, rough and dry skin, easy bruising, dry and brittle hair (known as coiled or corkscrew hair), muscle pain and gums that start to look purple. Eventually, with more severe and untreated deficiency, the symptoms may easily escalate to swollen and bleeding gums, loose teeth, secondary infections (infections that usually develop after a primary infection weakens the immunity and creates disturbances in the gut microbiome    ) , nosebleeds and spontaneous bleeding. All these symptoms occur because a shortage of vitamin C interferes with the body's ability to make and repair collagen, a fibrous protein that is found in your skin, bones, ligaments, muscles and blood vessels, and provides structure and strength to these tissues. Severe deficiency also causes depression and anxiety. 

You can prevent the risk of vitamin C deficiency by consuming a nutritious diet and a taking a high quality Liposomal Vitamin C supplement. It will also help you reduce the risk of many chronic conditions that are related to vitamin C deficiency such as anemia, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, heart disease and hyperthyroidism. Maintaining healthy levels of vitamin C also help to maintain healthy joints, keep eyes healthy, support cardiovascular health, manage stress levels and reduce the risk of diabetes. 

References:

Anitra C. Carr and  Sam Rowe. Factors Affecting Vitamin C Status and Prevalence of Deficiency: A Global Health Perspective. Nutrients 2020.