Vitamin C

The deficiency for vitamin C was not recognized until the 16th century when sailors began developing scurvy while on their voyages. Humans cannot produce vitamin C on their own, they must obtain it from an outside source. Vitamin C helps within the immune system, in collagen and connective tissue, has antioxidant properties as well as a few other functions. Some other benefits of vitamin C include reducing hypertension, reduce pain of angina, improve glucose tolerance and reduce diabetic vascular damage. In its pure form vitamin C is known as ascorbic acid.