Vitamin C
Any kind of trauma, including surgery, can deplete your vitamin C stores. After surgery, blood levels of vitamin C drop rapidly and a vitamin C deficiency makes wounds heal slower. Many studies have shown that vitamin C is essential for the body to produce wound-healing collagen, which provides the basic structure for many tissues, including skin, bone and blood vessels. Vitamin C is also needed for the skin to produce elastin, a tissue that lets wounds stretch without breaking.

Vitamin C also helps maintain a healthy immune system, vital for anyone who's undergoing surgery, so that they are able to mount a defence against the possibility of infection.

One study, by Russian researchers, found that people who had gallbladder surgery who received 200 to 250 mg of supplemental vitamin C a day were able to leave the hospital one or two days earlier compared with people who simply got their vitamin C from foods.

At most hospitals, you're expected to get your vitamin C from foods such as citrus juices and fruits. Eight ounces of orange juice, for instance, offers about 124 mg, while one orange has about 70mg. However, it is recommended that you receive amounts of vitamin C that are much higher than you normally obtain from foods alone. Dr Wunderlich believes this to be especially important when you're recovering from surgery. He tells his patients that "If you can take 1,000 mg of buffered or esterified vitamin C every eight hours for two weeks before and several weeks after surgery, you'll most likely be able to keep the vitamin C in your blood at a level that promotes optimum healing." He also recommends 1,000 mg of bioflavonoids a day to some of his patients. These chemical compounds are related to vitamin C and are often found in the same foods as the vitamin, especially citrus fruits. Dr. Wunderlich maintains that bioflavonoids can help maintain blood vessel strength and control inflammation.

Some people experience diarrhea and other digestive discomforts from high levels of vitamin C. Buffered vitamin C and esterified vitamin C (a slow-release form) are easier on the stomach.

Vitamin C can interfere with the results of certain diagnostic blood and urine tests, however, so it's important that you discuss supplementation with your doctor.

Article excerpted from healthy-vitamin-choice.com