Pretty much anyone with an interest in eating well and good nutrition knows that Vitamin C is one of the vital nutrients needed to keep you healthy and happy. You’ve probably seen it in all sorts of forms, from chewable tablets to the fizzy orange-ish flavored things you drop in a glass of water and drink/choke down. Now, it’s available in a new and more effective form: as liposomal-encapsulated Vitamin C capsules.
But what are liposomes and how do they help your dose of Vitamin C to be more effective? Let’s take a look at the details, as well as some of the potential benefits to be had from taking your Vitamin C supplements.
What Are the Health Benefits of Vitamin C?
Why is Vitamin C so important? Well, there’s a reason that sailors were eventually given citrus fruit when on long journeys – to avoid the ravages of scurvy. Scurvy is a condition caused by long-term lack of Vitamin C, and results in anemia, general weakness, skin hemorrhages, and gum disease.
Collagen Production
All of these ill effects are because of the vital part that Vitamin C plays in the production of collagen, one of the most important structural proteins in the skin, bones, tendons, cartilage, teeth, and pretty much all of the other connective tissues in your body. Without it, your body begins to fall apart, and you will eventually die like so many sailors did in the past.
Supporting your body’s production of collagen results in healthier skin, bones, muscles, and joints, and even helps injuries to heal faster.
Antioxidant Effects
Vitamin C is also a powerful antioxidant. Your body undergoes constant oxidative stress on a daily basis, from all of the environmental and dietary pollutants and toxins you take in as you go about your business. Things like cigarette smoke, pollution, alcohol, prescription and recreational drugs, high levels of sugar, and trans fats can all increase the amount of oxidation your body is subjected to.
Oxidation is the process that makes metal rust, and turns fruit brown when it is exposed to air, but in its essence, it’s just a chemical reaction that results in changes in atomic oxidation states, and the effects on the tissues of your body are still not understood, as far as the mechanism is concerned. However, data analysis shows that oxidation can be a cause of many degenerative diseases, inflammation, and has also been firmly linked to higher risks of cancer.
Making sure that you have enough Vitamin C in your system helps to prevent the damage caused by oxidation, as well as the damage caused to your body by the various bacteria and viruses that your immune system has to contend with.
Other Benefits of Vitamin C
There is a veritable laundry list of benefits associated with having high levels of Vitamin C in your diet. It can help to reduce your risk of complications after a heart attack or stroke, it can reduce the skin discoloration caused by melasma, and even can prevent skin damage from UV radiation.
It has also had some promising effects in the treatment of cancer. At the very least, it can markedly improve the quality of life of cancer patients, improving their symptoms and healing capacity, and is often used in conjunction with chemotherapy. While using Vitamin C as the sole treatment for cancer lacks enough evidence to be a proven method yet, some people have reported that taking huge doses of the vitamin has caused their cancer to go into remission.
What Are Liposomes and How Do They Help?
A liposome is effectively a microscopic drug delivery system. It consists of an outer layer of phospholipoid fat, the same fat that the cells of our bodies are made out of. Inside this fatty wall is a solution of sterile water and a water-soluble agent – in this case Vitamin C.
Despite being similar in form to a human cell, they are actually much smaller, which allows them to pass through the cell membranes and deliver their payload. One of the reasons they are more effective than standard forms of orally administered vitamin C is because they are able to make this delivery without the need for any energy being expended.
Another added bonus of packaging Vitamin C in liposomes is that it prevents any damage from sources like oxidation or digestion. This means that more of the nutrient survives its passage through the stomach and into the intestinal tract where it is absorbed and delivered to your cells.
The Health Benefits of Liposomal Vitamin C
Because of these effects, and thanks to the improved absorption that liposomes provide, one of the health benefits of liposomal Vitamin C is that it’s much more bioavailable, meaning that you get a lot more bang for your buck.
It also helps to avoid the risks associated with intravenous (IV) doses, with a similar profile in terms of how much is actually able to be used by your body rather than just staying in your blood and eventually excreted via your urine.
Finally, it also cuts out the need for the various added compounds and chemicals necessary to produce the previous forms of Vitamin C tablets and powders. Many of these have not been subject to proper long-term testing as to their safety and health effects, and so by taking liposomal Vitamin C you reduce the risk of unexpected complications.
Better Uptake, Fewer Risks
Overall, by putting the Vitamin C inside tiny little balls of fat and sterile water, it greatly increases how much of this vital nutrient is usable by your body, and so helps you to ensure that you are getting the beneficial effects for as long as possible after each dose.
It’s more effective than orally administered Vitamin C, it’s safer than injecting it directly into your veins, and it lasts longer in your system. All this combines to make it one of the most effective methods for ensuring that you don’t end up being thrown overboard to meet Davy Jones next time you go on a round the world cruise.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4915787/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1850635/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-c/
Comments