Vitamin C Ascorbic acid
This test measures the amount of vitamin C in the blood.
Due to new shipping equipment, it is possible to measure vitamin c in blood, if shielded from light. However, the blood must be at the lab within 24 hours. Therefore we recommend to do this test at the lab in Mönchengladbach. Shipping by medical mail is at your own risk. In 98% of the cases the test kit will be at the lab the next day. If this is not the case you will not have a reliable result. Please note the date and time of collection on your lab form! Do not leave the test kit at the point of care, our experience is that collecting the samples slows down the transport time.
This examination is suitable for detecting vitamin C deficiency or for monitoring the effect of vitamin therapy.
Measuring a normal vitamin C status doesn't make much sense, because vitamin C is very volatile and it's always a snapshot. Vitamin C is not retained by the body. So it only measures what was administered or eaten at that moment.
Vitamin C is necessary for the formation of bones, teeth, ligaments and blood vessels. It also plays an important role in the immune system. Our body cannot make vitamin C itself. Therefore we need to get it through our food. It is found in most types of fresh fruit, vegetables and potatoes. Severe lack of vitamin C is nowadays rare. Scurvy, the disease that occurs with a severe lack of vitamin C, in developed countries is a thing of the past. However, mild forms of vitamin C deficiency are still found, for example in the elderly (especially singles) with poor dietary habits, or in alcoholics. Sometimes vitamin C supplements must be prescribed, especially after a serious accident or burns: the recovery process requires a lot of vitamin C. The vitamin is also prescribed in conjunction with iron therapy: vitamin C promotes the absorption of iron by the body.
The target value for vitamin C is between 22.7 - 113.4 micromol/l.
Lowered
Values below 22.7 micromol/l indicate a deficiency.
Increased
This is rare. An excess of vitamin C can be excreted by the body through the urine.
