Full Article

Does Vitamin C Help Your Immune System?

Evidence does not support the claim that vitamin C helps your immune system.

There may not be definitive research that points to vitamin C as the answer to boosting the immune system, but as an important micronutrient, it can certainly help to balance and maintain it, an important process of its function.

The Elusive Immune System

There is much about the immune system that is unknown and most research that is being conducted on diet, lifestyle, age, and various additional factors and how they interact with immune responses are controversial within the scientific community.

Controversy and the Immune System

Even if the experts cannot agree on factors that cause the immune system to fail, or factors that can possibly boost its function, it does require balance and stability to function properly, which includes a healthy diet and lifestyle. Vitamin C is an important micronutrient that can help to maintain and support immune system function.

Role of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is essential for healthy growth and development. It helps the body to absorb iron, raises the body's levels of HDL-good cholesterol, and helps to lower blood pressure, It may also help to reduce the risk of certain cancers such as prostrate, colon, and breast cancer.

Possible Vitamin C Immune System Links

Possible immunity boosting functions of vitamin C include an increase in production of white blood cells, which fight infection. It increases interferon, which are the antibodies that coat cell surfaces, which may make them less impervious to infection.