Vitamin C

维生素 C

Place · Level 3

水溶 · 容易流失 · 抗氧化 · 帮铁进门 · 让胶原蛋白成形

Connected to · 7

synergy · 3

Vitamin E
C (aqueous) and E (lipid) work together; C recycles oxidized E.
Zinc
Zinc + vitamin C team up on wound healing and immune function.
Iron
Reverse of C → Fe; classic same-meal pairing for plant-iron uptake.

cofactor · 3

Iron
Vitamin C reduces Fe³⁺→Fe²⁺ and forms soluble complexes, boosting plant-iron uptake 2–3×.
Tendon Recovery
Vitamin C is an obligatory cofactor for collagen synthesis: prolyl and lysyl hydroxylase both depend on it, without it hydroxyproline is not made and the triple helix will not hold. Scurvy — wounds reopening, connective tissue failing — runs down exactly this path.
Bone
Prolyl hydroxylase needs vitamin C as its cofactor to twist type-I collagen's three strands into a stable triple helix — collagen is roughly 30% of bone by weight, and about 90% of its organic matrix. Mineral makes bone hard; collagen keeps it from being brittle.

regulates · 1

Kidney Stones
High-dose vitamin C (>2000 mg/day) metabolises to oxalate → ↑urinary oxalate → ↑CaOx stone risk. Thomas 2013 JAMA Intern Med (N=23,355 Swedish men): ≥1000 mg/day supplement → 70% higher stone risk. Food-level doses (≤200 mg) carry no such risk. Stone formers should cap C supplements at 500 mg/day.

Fresh food

Stop 1/6

新鲜食物

Ascorbic acid is destroyed by three things: heat, oxygen, water.

Cut fruit left in air for 24 hours loses 30–50%Vegetables (especially leafy greens) boiled 10 minutes lose ~50%Shredded and soaked in water — you're literally washing the water-soluble C away
Highest food sources (mg / 100g):

Bell peppers 130–190 mgKiwi 90 mgBroccoli, Chinese kale 80–90 mg (raw)Strawberries 60 mgCitrus 50 mg
Humans, primates, and guinea pigs are among the few mammals unable to synthesize vitamin C. Other mammals have L-gulono-lactone oxidase in liver and kidney, which makes C directly from glucose; in humans this gene (GULO) has degraded into a pseudogene, so vitamin C must come from food daily. This is why ancient sailors began dying of scurvy around week 8 of food rationing — once the body pool burned out, there was no buffer left.

Read story

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.

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Vitamin C

维生素 C

Place · Level 3

水溶 · 容易流失 · 抗氧化 · 帮铁进门 · 让胶原蛋白成形

Connected to · 7

synergy · 3

Vitamin E
C (aqueous) and E (lipid) work together; C recycles oxidized E.
Zinc
Zinc + vitamin C team up on wound healing and immune function.
Iron
Reverse of C → Fe; classic same-meal pairing for plant-iron uptake.

cofactor · 3

Iron
Vitamin C reduces Fe³⁺→Fe²⁺ and forms soluble complexes, boosting plant-iron uptake 2–3×.
Tendon Recovery
Vitamin C is an obligatory cofactor for collagen synthesis: prolyl and lysyl hydroxylase both depend on it, without it hydroxyproline is not made and the triple helix will not hold. Scurvy — wounds reopening, connective tissue failing — runs down exactly this path.
Bone
Prolyl hydroxylase needs vitamin C as its cofactor to twist type-I collagen's three strands into a stable triple helix — collagen is roughly 30% of bone by weight, and about 90% of its organic matrix. Mineral makes bone hard; collagen keeps it from being brittle.

regulates · 1

Kidney Stones
High-dose vitamin C (>2000 mg/day) metabolises to oxalate → ↑urinary oxalate → ↑CaOx stone risk. Thomas 2013 JAMA Intern Med (N=23,355 Swedish men): ≥1000 mg/day supplement → 70% higher stone risk. Food-level doses (≤200 mg) carry no such risk. Stone formers should cap C supplements at 500 mg/day.

Fresh food

Stop 1/6

新鲜食物

Ascorbic acid is destroyed by three things: heat, oxygen, water.

Cut fruit left in air for 24 hours loses 30–50%Vegetables (especially leafy greens) boiled 10 minutes lose ~50%Shredded and soaked in water — you're literally washing the water-soluble C away
Highest food sources (mg / 100g):

Bell peppers 130–190 mgKiwi 90 mgBroccoli, Chinese kale 80–90 mg (raw)Strawberries 60 mgCitrus 50 mg
Humans, primates, and guinea pigs are among the few mammals unable to synthesize vitamin C. Other mammals have L-gulono-lactone oxidase in liver and kidney, which makes C directly from glucose; in humans this gene (GULO) has degraded into a pseudogene, so vitamin C must come from food daily. This is why ancient sailors began dying of scurvy around week 8 of food rationing — once the body pool burned out, there was no buffer left.

Read story

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.