Causes of Vitamin C Deficiency
The primary cause of vitamin C deficiency in adults is inadequate or insufficient nutrition. Vitamin C deficiency is primarily caused by poor dietary habits and an exclusive reliance on processed foods, with inadequate consumption of raw fruits and vegetables. Due to inflammatory diseases, smoking, febrile illnesses, iron deficiency, burns, surgery, hyperthyroidism, achlorhydria, protein deficiency, and cold or heat duress, the need for vitamin C doubles. Nonetheless, a deficiency in vitamin C can also be caused by improper food preparation methods. The degradation of vitamin C in food can be caused by cooking or sterilising ingredients at high temperatures.
In the presence of a vitamin C deficiency, intercellular joining substances in bones, dentin, and connective tissues form improperly. Consequently, a deficiency in vitamin C can result in fragile capillaries with frequent haemorrhages and defects in dentin or bones. In addition, bone tissue formation is impaired in adolescents, resulting in poor bone growth and bone lesions. Between the epiphysis and diaphysis junctions and the costochondral junction, fibrous tissues expand. Due to small fractures, dense calcified cartilage fragments begin to embed in fibrous tissues, causing subperiosteal haemorrhaging in infants and adults.
