Whether or Not to Take Vitamin C
Unlike most other mammals, humans and other primates don't synthesize vitamin C because we lack the enzyme glunolactone oxidase (1). The enzyme was lost long ago without affecting our survival due to frequent intake of high-vitamin C fruits and vegetables. Thus, we must continue to get vitamin C from our diet by the same manner (fruits or veggies) or otherwise, lest we succumb to scurvy as British sailors did in the early 1800s before they adopted rationing limes on naval vessels (1). Vitamin C deficiency leading to scurvy is now rare (1) and in the developed world, but studies on North American and European populations have found that many people who do not eat enough fruits and high-vitamin C vegetables continue to have inadequate levels of vitamin C (2;3). Supplementation or dietary change would serve the majority of these patients because—when taken along with other vitamins—vitamin C may lead to reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and catar...