Vitamin C: Muscle Growth

It amazing how people tend to indulge in the exspensive and over-rated muscle supplement industry. Each year, thousand of dollars are poured in to fuel this industry, unaware of the muscle benefits that can be gained from consuming something as simple as an orange.

Why should you take vitamin C to build muscle?
Simple, vitamin C sppeds up the time it takes for your muscles to recover from weight training activity. During weight bearing activity, muscle tissue is naturally broken down, only to naturally build up again in forming new stronger tissue. Vitamin C speeds up this process so your able to perform the specific muscle building activity sooner than normal.

How does vitamin C recover your muscles faster?
The answer lies in your bodys ability to produce cortisol, a catabolic hormone that breaks down muscle tissue. In times of stress, cortisol is released into the blood stream and directed towards the specific muscles being stressed. However, vitamin c reduces cortisol production.by disrupting the presense of free radicals in the body. Upon completion of your workout is the best time to consume some form of vitamin C.

A German research study provided evidence to the vitamins ability to reuce cortisol production. A total of 120 participants had to perform a public speaking task combined with multiple math problems to produce stress. Approximately half of the sample population was given 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C before the stressor was applied. The elevated stress hormone cortisol, as well as blood pressure were higher in those that were not given vitamin C before the speech.

Source:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/vitamin-c-stress-buster