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Sure, you drink your orange juice and eat your vegetables (sometimes). But one in 10 men are still vitamin C deficient, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And unexpected new research shows vitamin C may play an important role in proper brain function and health.
A team of Oregon-based researchers found that the retina cells in the back of the eye become overtaxed—and eventually burn out—when denied proper amounts of vitamin C.
Why? Your eye cells are constantly at work communicating with one another. Vitamin C triggers specific receptors in your eye to release glutamate, a neurotransmitter that slows down this cellular communication, explains Henrique von Gersdorff, Ph.D., the neurobiologist who led the Oregon study. “Without enough glutamate, the cells work themselves to death,” von Gersdorff explains.
If too many cells die, you end up with glaucoma—damage to the optic nerve that carries information from your eyes to your brain.
And there’s more: Your brain is filled with the same types of cells and receptors that exist in your retinas. Without adequate amounts of vitamin C, cell burnout could (theoretically) alter your brain’s chemistry in a way that contributes to health issues ranging from epilepsy to depression, von Gersdorff says.
Scientists have long understood the importance of vitamin C for healthy tissue, bones, teeth, and cartilage. But the Oregon study is one of the first to hint at vitamin C’s impact on proper brain function and health.
You’re body can’t make vitamin C on its own; you have to get the minimum 90-mg recommended daily allowance from your diet. That means eating vitamin-C-loaded fruits and vegetables like oranges (70 mg of C per medium orange), cantaloupe (65 mg per cup), and broccoli (80 mg per cup of raw florets).
For more flavorful broccoli, sauté the florets over medium heat with olive oil, a little garlic salt, and some red pepper flakes. (Tip: Boiling broccoli can deplete the vegetable’s cancer-fighting compounds.) And squeezing lemon onto other vitamin-C-rich fruits like watermelon and strawberry is a great way to make the flavors pop.
A team of Oregon-based researchers found that the retina cells in the back of the eye become overtaxed—and eventually burn out—when denied proper amounts of vitamin C.
Why? Your eye cells are constantly at work communicating with one another. Vitamin C triggers specific receptors in your eye to release glutamate, a neurotransmitter that slows down this cellular communication, explains Henrique von Gersdorff, Ph.D., the neurobiologist who led the Oregon study. “Without enough glutamate, the cells work themselves to death,” von Gersdorff explains.
If too many cells die, you end up with glaucoma—damage to the optic nerve that carries information from your eyes to your brain.
And there’s more: Your brain is filled with the same types of cells and receptors that exist in your retinas. Without adequate amounts of vitamin C, cell burnout could (theoretically) alter your brain’s chemistry in a way that contributes to health issues ranging from epilepsy to depression, von Gersdorff says.
Scientists have long understood the importance of vitamin C for healthy tissue, bones, teeth, and cartilage. But the Oregon study is one of the first to hint at vitamin C’s impact on proper brain function and health.
You’re body can’t make vitamin C on its own; you have to get the minimum 90-mg recommended daily allowance from your diet. That means eating vitamin-C-loaded fruits and vegetables like oranges (70 mg of C per medium orange), cantaloupe (65 mg per cup), and broccoli (80 mg per cup of raw florets).
For more flavorful broccoli, sauté the florets over medium heat with olive oil, a little garlic salt, and some red pepper flakes. (Tip: Boiling broccoli can deplete the vegetable’s cancer-fighting compounds.) And squeezing lemon onto other vitamin-C-rich fruits like watermelon and strawberry is a great way to make the flavors pop.
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