The importance of vitamin C in perimenopause and menopause

Vitamin C & why you need it during perimenopause and menopause

I'm sure you know about vitamin C in relation to helping with colds and flu and protecting against winter ailments like upper respiratory tract infections, but vitamin C is needed for a whole range of other processes and systems in our body.

So, let’s take a look at why you need vitamin C and what you need it for as you go through perimenopause and menopause.

1. Vitamin C is needed for growth and repair

If you think about it, in perimenopause and menopause, all these physical changes are going on, so we need lots and lots of vitamin C to help stabilise our bodies generally.

2. Vitamin C is needed for collagen

Collagen is very important for stabilising and strengthening connective tissue. So that, basically, means vitamin C helps keep our skin firm. Collagen is also needed for the joints. So, if you're getting joint pain, it could just be an indication that you are low in vitamin C.

3. Vitamin C is vital for the integrity of your blood vessels

Vitamin C helps keep them strong. I'm sure you've all heard of scurvy, which was a disease that sailors used to get when they were at sea for a long, because they ran out of fresh fruits and vegetables. Scurvy, basically, is where the internal blood vessels are so weak that they just break and the poor person ends up with a lot of internal bleeding. So, it's really, really important to have vitamin C for your blood vessels.

4. Vitamin C is needed for wound-healing and immune support

You need vitamin C for wound-healing, which can become slower at this time. It's also needed to support your immune system. We know that, definitely, in perimenopause and menopause, our immune function can be that little bit weaker, and we can be more vulnerable to winter infections, such as colds and flu; so, getting adequate vitamin C during the winter is certainly going to be a boost for immune function.

5. Vitamin C is needed for gum and tooth health

Vitamin C is essential for your gum health, and we know that swollen gums, bleeding gums, and tooth loss, are very common as oestrogen starts to fall. Vitamin C is needed to keep teeth healthy as well. So, it's a really important one for oral health.

6. Vitamin D is needed for heart health

Vitamin C also helps prevent heart disease. And again, we know that especially post-menopause, women are much more vulnerable to things like heart disease and heart attacks. So, again, you know, we need to be mindful of this one.

7. Vitamin C is needed for a chemical compound called ATP

ATP is vital to help with cellular energy. Basically, every single cell in our body needs ATP to keep the cell going. And again, fatigue is really, really common in perimenopause and menopause. So, if you're feeling tired all the time, it could be something as simple as just not getting enough vitamin C in your diet rather than anything else.

8. Vitamin C is needed to control histamine levels

The other thing that vitamin C does is help to control and reduce the levels of histamine in our bodies. We know that inflammation and hormonal changes can make us produce more histamine. Histamine will lead to things like itchy skin and rashes, so getting extra vitamin C in there can make quite a difference to these kinds of allergic reactions as well.

How much vitamin C do you need?

Believe it or not, in the UK, it's only 75 milligrams for women. If you have 75 milligrams a day, you're unlikely to get scurvy. But for optimum health, we need an awful lot more vitamin C. Some sources say we need up to maybe 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C on a daily basis.

But the important thing here is that we need vitamin C, little and often. There are some animals on the planet that can't manufacture vitamin C, which includes humans, primates, guinea pigs, and fruit bats. For some reason, this group of mammals can't produce vitamin C, whereas dogs​, cats​, and elephants can. So, we need to make sure that we are getting enough vitamin C in our diet on a daily basis.

When human beings were developing, when the human race was coming into being, we were hunter-gatherers. And in that situation, we would be eating whenever we had the opportunity, and things like berries and fruits would be a big part of the diet. And these are also foods that are very high in vitamin C. So, our bodies learned to cope with vitamin C little and often. But what has happened now in the modern world? We don't have that drip feed of vitamin C from our food, and we can become deficient very, very quickly.

So, the best way to get vitamin C is from your food. You're looking at as much fresh food as you can on a daily basis. It can be fruits, berries, dark green leafy vegetables, sprouted seeds. You could be looking at things like red and yellow peppers, kiwi fruit, oranges, vegetables such as broccoli and peas, and papaya.

But remember, the minute you cook food, you destroy the vitamin C in it, so fresh is best. I do get people asking me, "Well, I take a 1,000 mg supplement in one day, isn't that going to be enough?" The problem is that because our bodies are used to dealing with vitamin C in little doses, taking one large supplement can be a bit too much. Vitamin C is water-soluble, so all you will do is lose it when you go to the toilet. And because a lot of supplements contain ascorbic acid, they can actually upset digestion, if yours is a little bit sensitive.

If you think about it, you will not get any food that has 1,000 mg of vitamin C that you could eat in one day. If you wanted to eat sufficient fruit to get 1,000 mg of vitamin C, you would have to eat 20 oranges in one go. I don't think anybody could go nearly that far. So, if you're doing vitamin C supplementation, try and do it a little and often if you can.

If you feel that you're struggling, especially in the winter when raw foods are not particularly appealing, you can look at a good supplement. Please don't get supplements with artificial sweeteners in them, because these very often can negate any benefit you're going to get. Maybe try and see if you can get supplements that contain real fruit. We've got our Nature-C supplement, which contains natural vitamin C from six different types of fruit.

Nature-C vitamin tablets

• Rich in naturally occurring vitamin C
• Helps support immune system function
• Made from extracts of a wide variety of fruit
• Chewable tablet

Read more customer reviews

Find Nature C in a store near you

Remember too that different foods are different colours. And colours also mean that there are compounds called bioflavonoids present. And each different colour has a different combination of bioflavonoids. And bioflavonoids and vitamin C work synergistically to give you even better benefits. So, the idea of eating a rainbow on a plate on a daily basis is a really, really good idea.

If you feel that your immune system is a little bit weak, and you're looking for something as a winter supplement, we also have our Immune Support, which contains a small amount of vitamin C, as well as other immune-supporting nutrients, including vitamin D and zinc.

Sweet cravings & vitamin C deficiency

One of the other really interesting things is that if you are craving sweet things, that can be an indication of vitamin C deficiency. Again, going back to hundreds of thousands of years ago when we were hunter-gatherers, if our blood sugar got a bit low, our body would crave something sweet. And that something sweet would be in the form of fruits and berries. And that is where the vitamin C would be. So, if you're finding today that you're getting food cravings, maybe try a low-dose vitamin C supplement several times a day and you may find that that sorts it out.

I hope you found this one helpful. It really is amazing that low levels of one of the most well-known vitamins (that we just tend to take for granted) can have such an impact on perimenopause and menopause. So, hopefully, this will just give you that little bit of extra advice to see if you maybe need to up your levels a little bit. For any of you who have discovered that you're low in vitamin C, what have you found that has made a big difference in terms of adding vitamin C-rich foods to your diet? Please share. You know that I love to read all your stories. Have a lovely week, and I'll see you soon.

You may also find these topics helpful:

5 common vitamin & mineral deficiencies in menopause

Menopause and your increased nutritional needs