Researchers at the University of Copenhagen, in Denmark, studied nearly 100,000 subjects to understand the relationship between vitamin C intake and heart disease.

They found that those with the highest intake of fruits and vegetables had a 15 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a 20 percent lower risk of early death than those who rarely ate fruits and vegetables.

Your mother was right: You need to eat your fruits and vegetables! Natural foods contain a plethora of healthy nutrients that help maintain a strong immune system and aid in healing of injuries.

But sadly, most Americans do not eat enough fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin C is a crucial nutrient that we do not manufacture in our bodies. Either you get an adequate amount from your diet or you become deficient and can develop scurvy, which is characterized by poor wound healing, gum disease, bleeding from mucous membranes, cardiovascular disease, and death.

I see many patients with subclinical scurvy, meaning they don’t have all the classical symptoms of scurvy but have low levels of vitamin C in their blood.

Daily doses of vitamin C should average between 3,000 and 5,000 mg per day for most people. When you become ill, vitamin C levels can drop dramatically, so it is important to take more.

When an illness hits, I suggest doubling or tripling the usual dose of vitamin C. If you get loose stools, simply lower the amount.

The best way to ensure adequate vitamin C levels is to eat a healthy diet full of whole foods such as vegetables and fruits.