Do you feel run down or fatigued most days? Do you have trouble with split ends, dry skin, and are easy to bruise? If so, you may be suffering from a Vitamin C deficiency. Luckily, this is easy to fix in today's world with many Vitamin C supplements already commonly available on the market.

The majority of the Vitamin C our bodies need comes from the food we eat. If you're not eating enough of these foods, or your body is not absorbing enough Vitamin C to meet your daily needs, then you may want to consider supplementing with Vitamin C. But, did you know that the benefits of Vitamin C are good for much more than just repairing brittle hair and giving you an energy boost?

Vitamin C is found in a variety of fruits and vegetables like oranges, kale, broccoli, grapefruit, strawberries and bell peppers. If you're not getting enough of these foods in your diet and aren't able to, it may be worth considering supplementing with Vitamin C.

1. Helps Boost Your Immune System

We've all had it: the dreaded seasonal cold. Not only does it make us feel awful and keep us away from enjoying our week, it can turn into more serious conditions like pneumonia. Fortunately, Vitamin C has been proven to help give our immune systems a boost, shortening the duration of the cold and flu. Regular supplementation may even help strengthen our immune system as a whole.

2. Natural Antioxidant

Vitamin C plays a huge role throughout the body and has been proven to be a natural antioxidant. The antioxidant benefits from Vitamin C helps your body recover from everyday stresses, helps boost your immune system as well as boost the overall health of your plasma, lungs, eye lenses and retinas.

3. Relieves High Blood Pressure

Scientists have discovered that regular supplementation with Vitamin C helped lower hypertension, or high blood pressure, in short-term clinical trials. In fact, even in rat trials, Vitamin C was shown to help reduce high blood pressure and even protect the liver and kidney against damage. This is wonderful news for people who suffer from chronic high blood pressure and may be a way of helping relieve the symptoms, or even treat high blood pressure conditions, lessening your risk for cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

4. Lowers Lead Levels

There's still concern over the amount of lead that may be present in everyday items we use, like paints, toys, batteries, electronics and other things. Lead toxicity is especially a problem in developing countries and factories that work with raw material. Unfortunately, high lead levels can lead to a myriad of health risks and ailments affecting all of the body's major systems. Lead affects all major organs and can lead to oxidative stress, organ failure, and in severe cases, potentially even death.

Luckily, however, Vitamin C has shown positive results in reducing the levels of lead present in the general population's blood.

5. Boosts Your Mood

Now, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. When most people think of Vitamin C, they might think of sunny days, smiling faces, or even the color orange. This is not unusual thanks to the many commercials that advertise Vitamin C supplements. Fortunately, however, these commercials aren't as far off as you may think. Vitamin C has been proven to boost your mood, improve anxiety, and elevate your energy levels, leaving you feeling less fatigued and ready to take on the day. In fact, more than just leaving you feeling more energized throughout the day, short-term clinical trials have even shown positive results in the administration of Vitamin C reducing symptoms of depression in hospitalized patients.

6. Reduces Your Risk of Stroke

While more evidence is still needed for conclusive results, there are a number of studies out there that conclude that Vitamin C can potentially reduce your risk of stroke. This is an important consideration, especially if you are already predisposed for risk of stroke. It's important to always consult with your doctor before beginning a new supplement or method of treatment.

7. Helps Wounds Heal Faster

When you have a cut on your skin, your body goes to work to start repairing the wound. Collagen goes to work and forms the structure of the other connective tissues. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient in the both stimulating these collagen cells as well as the formation of these structural, connective tissues. When the body is injured after a cut, a surgery, burn, or other type of wound, the body increases it's demand for Vitamin C. If your body's Vitamin C levels do not meet the requirements to properly heal the wound, the wound may heal improperly.

8. Reduces Risk of Cataracts

Surprisingly, Vitamin C has been shown to reduce the risk of developing certain types of cataracts in the eye. The lens of your eyes have Vitamin C inside of them and certain activities and conditions such as smoking or diabetes deplete the Vitamin C in the eye's lens. This leads to the potential development of cataracts. Multiple studies have been done on the subject and show positive results for Vitamin C consumption reducing the risk of developing cataracts, especially as you age. More studies are needed to find the evidence conclusive so far, however, as many studies suggest that the supplementation of Vitamin C may only be useful for certain types of cataracts.

9. Reduces Symptoms of Asthma

For those of us who suffer from asthma, there's good news. Vitamin C has been tested in a number of clinical and scientific trials and many have shown that there is a high potential for Vitamin C to reliably decrease the symptoms of asthma, especially after exercising. In fact, in five separate trials tested in one study, taking Vitamin C “halved the incidence of respiratory symptoms after short-term heavy physical stress”. This is incredible news for aspiring athletes who suffer from asthma. Several other studies also concluded that Vitamin C was also related to an improvement in pulmonary action, or how well the lungs function.