Vitamin C… With Bioflavonoids!
We all know that vitamin C is an extremely helpful vitamin to have around. It’s one of the most widely-used antioxidants throughout the body, promoting countless positive functions, including skin care. Vitamin C is also known for its beneficial effects when taken with other vitamins. For instance, the combination of vitamin C and vitamin B5 is known to have a considerable effect in speeding the healing process. Taking about 400 mg of vitamin C daily is recommended by many nutritionalists. However, as if you don’t have enough decisions to worry about when buying vitamins these days (tablets, capsules, liquid, time-released, etc…), it’s become quite common to see vitamin C packed with an ingredient you’ve probably never heard of: bioflavonoids.
So what are bioflavonoids? The term “bioflavonoids” refers to a class of plant secondary metabolites. Bioflavonoids are natural pigments, producing the colors in many flowers and providing protection for these plants against microbes and some insects. In nutrition, they are most commonly known for their antioxidant properties. Vitamin C and bioflavonoids are often found in many of the same foods, and researchers believe that some of the benefits previously attributed to vitamin C are in fact the work of the bioflavonoids. These include many of the benefits attributed to citrus fruits and even red wines.
Bioflavonoids exhibit fairly low levels of toxicity, making them generally safe for human consumption. Besides the standard boosts to the immune system that most antioxidants provide, there is evidence that bioflavonoids possess a number of other health benefits. They have been found to aid in blood clotting and the maintenance of cell capillaries. Some researchers refer to them as “nature’s biological response modifiers” thanks to their ability to enhance the body’s reaction to allergens, viruses, and carcinogens. Experimental evidence has shown bioflavonoids to show anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-cancer activity. While there is not yet sufficient clinical evidence to confirm all these properties, recent interest in bioflavonoids has led to a number of clinical studies, with more sure to follow. If, as some scientists assume, some of the benefits previously attributed to various vitamins and minerals may actually the work of bioflavonoids, it would mean a bit of a shake up in current nutritional science.
In any case, with vitamin C and bioflavonoids so commonly found together in nature, it’s no surprise that these two ingredients work well with one another. Some reports have claimed that vitamin C and citrus bioflavonoids require each other in order to produce the beneficial effects they have on the immune system. Bioflavonoids help protect vitamin C from oxidation, ensuring your body is able maximize its use of the vitamin. This may be why bioflavonoids have been shown to increase intracellular levels of vitamin C. While some of their benefits may still be questioned, there’s little doubt that bioflavonoids share a synergistic relationship with vitamin C, so that supplement that says “with bioflavonoids” is probably worth it.
