Vitamin C, also known under the name
of ascorbic acid, is probably the most
popular vitamin. Vitamin C is really an
intriguing and important nutritious
element, necessary for human life,
even if a part of myth encircles it
which is benefical to all
parapharmaceutic industry,
pharmaceutics, dietetics or in the
naturopathes which recommend it fo
r any kind of problems (influenza,
colds, or even cancer), and sell it by
kilograms employing wrong and wron
g pretexts.

vitamin C is important for all animals, including men, because it is vital in the production of collagen. It is also important because she helps to protect liposolubles vitamins A and E, as well as fatty acids, oxidation.

vitamin C is an antioxidizer, that is able to react with an oxidizer to neutralize it. The vitamin C reduce radical free, so dangerous for organism owing to their oxidizing power.

The vitamin C in its reduced state (see below to the left) can neutralize an oxidizer (radical free, oxygen) and are transformed into oxidized vitamin (see vitamin C oxidized mentioned below to the right). Once the vitamin C oxidized it loses its antioxidizing power.

An experience allowing to illustrate the antioxidizing power of the vitamin C is mentioned below:

Cut an apple in two parts. Take one part and press on it the half of a lemon (lemon juice contains of the vitamin C). Leave the 2 apple parts outside for 2 hours.

After 2 hours or more, the apple which was not coated with lemon juice blackened under the effect of the air oxygen. Oxygen directly oxidized the apple.

At the opposite, the apple coated with lemon juice did not blacken, the oxygen of air oxidized the vitamin C and not the constituents of the apple. You see definitely that vitamin C has a protective effect against oxidizers which can cause damage on our cells like for the apple.