Does vitamin c affect blood clotting?

Vitamin C is a well-known micronutrient that is necessary for the proper functioning of our body. It plays a crucial role in collagen synthesis and acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage caused by free radicals. Many people consume vitamin C supplements regularly to boost their immune system or prevent colds. However, some may be concerned about the potential effect of vitamin C on blood clotting and wonder whether it could lead to bleeding disorders or other health issues.

What Is Blood Clotting?

Before we dive into the impact of vitamin C on blood clotting, let’s revisit what blood clotting is all about. Whenever there is an injury or damage to a blood vessel, our body initiates a complex cascade of events called hemostasis to stop bleeding and repair damaged tissues.

The process involves several cellular components called platelets that come together at the site of injury and form a plug or clot composed of fibrin threads. The formation of clots prevents excessive loss of blood and allows time for tissue healing.

The Role Of Vitamin C In Hemostasis

Now comes the interesting part – how does vitamin C affect this natural process? To answer this question, we need to look at its role in keeping our endothelial lining healthy – endothelium being an inner layer that lines inside our vessels including arteries.

A healthy endothelium ensures smooth flow through these vessels so they remain patent; big words aside helps keep us alive you know! Endothelial dysfunction can impede normal hemostatic processes which leads to abnormal thrombus/clots formation leading to cardiovascular diseases.

Research has shown that sufficient intake(>100mg/day)of vitamin c keeps vascular integrity intact even during inflammation hence preventing thromboembolism due hypercoagulopathy i.e too much clot formation induced by inflammatory illness like pulmonary embolism etc.
Yes enough vocabulary now let’s get to the point, more vitamin C means less endothelial dysfunction and so better hemostasis – sounds easy peasy!

Note however that excessive intake or injection of >3g/day can lead to procoagulation i.e slightly opposite effect due arterial damage.

Vitamin C And Blood Thinners

So, is it safe to take vitamin C supplements when on blood thinners like aspirin or warfarin? According to most research done; you probably don’t have much to worry about.

However, there are a few things that you should be aware of before popping another supplement:

  • Exceeding daily recommended doses could put your health at risk (usually from chronic toxicity rather than consuming too much in one sitting).
  • Overdose may increase the chances of kidney stones for people who might already tend towards this problem.
  • Long-term consumption >1year above 1000mg/day could have risks with enhanced iron absorption leading hyperferritinemia conditions.

The Takeaway

To sum up everything we’ve covered here today:

Vitamin c plays a role in maintaining healthy endothelium which helps maintain hemostasis through our body’s built-in mechanisms. Therefore low-risk supplementation within limits isn’t harmful but instead beneficial for preventing cardiovascular diseases such as Deep vein thrombosis(DVT ili clotting tendencies), stroke amongst others. However excessively large doses (>2g/day)could tip you over into pro-coagulatory settings.

It comes down again fundamentally taking approved dosages – which ranges between 65mg(in children) and upto 120mg(in pregnant ladies)- while sticking well-tolerated habits by avoiding prolonged high-dosage (>2000mg/dy)to stay away from any complications involving clots generation/tissue necrosis/macrophage cells presentation/oncogenic transformations/polymorphisms among others seen especially with unnecessary overdosing over long term periods!

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