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Vitamin C

Introduction
Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins. Without vitamin C, human life would not be on this planet today. It does many positive things in the human body. It increases recovery time from illnesses such as colds. It helps to prevent free radical damage and collagen glycation, which cause the body to age much faster than it usually should. It also helps to prevent major diseases, like scurvy, which results from Vitamin C deficiency. Vitamin C is necessary for human life.
Properties of Vitamin C
The chemical name for vitamin C is ascorbic acid. Its molecular structure is fairly simple to recognize, C6H8O6. There are many positive properties of vitamin C. It is a water-soluble vitamin, so it is easily ingested into the bloodstream. It is also "virtually nontoxic" (3). When vitamin C is ingested, the body only uses what is needed. The rest is carried out of the body through urine. An experiment was carried out using guinea pigs to test the toxicity of the vitamin. "Guinea pigs that were given one half of one percent of their body weight of ascorbic acid per day for a period of days showed no symptoms of toxicity" (3).
Vitamin C is also a necessary part of the immune system. White blood cells are the body's defense system against infections. The white blood cells in the human body could not "activate" if vitamin C was not present (Biamonte). The cells would be useless, and a person's body would be very vulnerable to infection, similar to AIDS. Vitamin C is also used in the lymph glands to form lymphocytes, which neutralize bacteria in the glands. Vitamin C is used in the spleen. It directs the white blood cells where they need to go to fight an infection.
There are only two negative aspects of vitamin C. It is not produced in the human body, so a person needs to have a daily intake of at least 60 mg (recommended daily value) to stay healthy (5). There are many ways for a person to obtain vitamin C. One way is to take...