Role of Vitamin C in the Management of Immunologic Disorders

Vitamin C was discovered in the twentieth century as a preventer of scurvy during research on guinea pigs by Albert Gyorgyi. Since then, scientists have faced many challenges in taking its beneficial claims in medical sciences. Several studies concluded that a higher intake of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant, reduces the risk of multiple diseases, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, common cold, kidney stone, and diabetes. However, some studies did not agree on the beneficial effects of vitamin C. Nowadays, many studies with advanced techniques have been accomplished to appraise the beneficial role of vitamin C. Vitamin C plays a vital role in the human body by stimulating the activity of white blood cells, and it is well known that white blood cells are the basic components of immunity. Therefore, it has been recognized through extensive research that vitamin C reduces the risk of many immunologic diseases and has a role in treating them also. Autoimmune diseases, asthma, common cold, cancer, osteoarthritis, gout, age-related macular degeneration, and cataracts are some of the diseases among them.