Vitamin C is important, especially in winter

As we head into the winter months, you want to make sure you are getting enough vitamin C to help boost your immune system. Vitamin C is essential for growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body. It is an effective antioxidant and may help in preventing certain types of cancers. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that our body does not make. In other words, we need to obtain it from our diet. How do we do this? We do it by eating at least three to five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Some foods high in vitamin C are strawberries, grapefruit, kiwi, pineapple, oranges, mango, sweet potato and white potato, broccoli, leafy greens, bell pepper and brussel sprouts. Vitamin C is absorbed best when taken in conjunction with calcium, magnesium or bioflavanoids.As it stands, the Recommended Daily Intake is 60 to 95 mg of Vitamin C a day. An optimal amount is 200 to 400 mg per day. Recommendations for helping to cut the time of the common cold down is to increase the amount of Vitamin C to 500 mg three times a day for the first couple of days when you feel a cold coming on. Since it is water soluble, if you ingest more than your body can absorb, Vitamin C will be excreted out of your urine. Remember, though, that you can have too much of the vitamin. More than 2000 mg/2g a day can cause dizziness, diarrhea and bloating so be careful about mega dosing.Stacy Johnson is a Pilates instructor/ nutritionist at Guiding Fitness in Lincoln. Phone number is 626-7739. Or go online to GuidingFitness.com.