How Vitamin C May Protect You From Air Pollution

Plus some thoughts on how Vitamin C may have a supportive role in this era of microplastics.

A new 2025 study from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has highlighted something naturopaths and integrative practitioners have understood for years: Vitamin C is a crucial defence against oxidative stress, particularly the stress caused by modern environmental pollution.

Researchers at UTS found that Vitamin C plays a protective role against cellular damage triggered by air pollution, especially tiny airborne particles that can inflame the lungs, bloodstream, skin, and cardiovascular system.

In a world where many people inhale pollutants daily - from traffic, smoke haze, industry, pesticides, cleaning chemicals, and even microplastics floating in household dust - supporting antioxidant pathways has never been more important.

At PNMC, this aligns with our naturopathic philosophy to build resilience in the body, reduce inflammation, support detoxification, and strengthen your body’s natural defense systems as a preventative - before illness develops.

Why Vitamin C Is Essential in a Polluted Environment

Vitamin C is one of the body’s strongest antioxidants, involved in:

• Neutralising free radicals

• Supporting immune function

• Reducing inflammation

• Collagen synthesis (skin, joints, vessels)

• Protecting lung and cardiovascular tissues

• Supporting adrenal and stress resilience
  
  

Air pollution increases oxidative stress dramatically, meaning the body may use up Vitamin C faster, leaving you more vulnerable to symptoms of low Vitamin C.

Signs You May Be Low in Vitamin C

Many people have suboptimal levels without realising it.
Common symptoms include:

• Low energy or poor stress tolerance

• Easy bruising

• Slow wound healing

• Dry, rough, or fragile skin

• Bleeding gums

• Frequent colds or infections

• Iron deficiency (Vitamin C helps iron absorption)

• Joint or muscle aches

• Feeling run down or inflamed
  
  

If you’re reading this list and noticing that several of these apply to you, it’s worth discussing a personalised treatment plan with your PNMC naturopath.

What Are the Most Effective Types of Vitamin C Supplements?

Not all forms of Vitamin C are absorbed equally. Therapeutic needs often require more than a standard chewable tablet. Here’s a run down on the commonly available Vitamin C supplements: 

1. Chewable or Standard Ascorbic Acid Tablets

• Convenient and inexpensive

• Useful for general wellbeing

• Not ideal for high therapeutic dosing

• May irritate the gut or tooth enamel due to it’s acidity, especially at higher doses, which may be required to get benefits.

2. Buffered Vitamin C - Mineral Ascorbates (Available at PNMC)

• Gentler on digestion

• Better tolerated at higher doses

• Good for people with gut sensitivity or inflammation

3. Liposomal Vitamin C (Available at PNMC)

• Among the most bioavailable oral forms

• Absorbs through fat-soluble pathways

• Achieves far higher blood levels than standard tablets

• Excellent for strong immune, antioxidant, and recovery needs

4. IV Vitamin C Therapy (Available at PNMC)

For more intensive support, IV Vitamin C bypasses the digestive system completely and allows for therapeutic-dose antioxidant support.

Benefits include:

• Rapid absorption into the bloodstream

• Superior antioxidant activity

• Support for respiratory health & immune resilience

• Helpful during high stress, illness, post-viral fatigue, or burnout

• Excellent when oral dosing is not enough
  
  

We offer IV drip therapy administration right here in HIghgate, just outside of Perth CBD and Vitamin C infusions are one of the more common being administered by our Nurse Ali Evans. To access IV drip therapy, you’ll need to first speak to your GP. You can find out more about the process here.

Who May Benefit Most From Vitamin C Support?

• People exposed to pollution (traffic, construction, smoke, city air)

• Individuals with chronic stress or poor immune resilience

• Athletes or active people with high oxidative load

• Anyone recovering from illness or surgery

• Those with gut malabsorption

• Individuals consuming high amounts of packaged foods

• Adults aged 40+ (natural antioxidant reserves decline with age)

• Smokers or those exposed to second-hand smoke

Microplastics: Another Reason Antioxidant Support Matters

While this blog is centred on the UTS air-pollution Vitamin C study, it’s worth briefly acknowledging another growing environmental concern: microplastics.

Emerging research from Harvard and other global institutions has found microplastics in many human tissues including arteries, lungs, digestive tract, and even brain tissue. These particles absorb, and carry into the human body, chemicals such as phthalates, PFAS, and heavy metals. 

Microplastics have been found in human placentas and in brain tissue (in autopsies), and recent studies suggest accumulation is increasing.

Even if you have removed plastics from your kitchen and your home, there’s no way to avoid consuming microplastics in a modern city environment. As plastics break down into smaller and smaller particles, you inhale them in the air your breathe and from the foods you eat that have absorbed them. Microplastics are found in hygiene products, especially face scrubs, but also in clothing, tap water, and many packaged foods. 

The issue with microplastics in the body is that they appear to trigger:

• Oxidative stress

• Inflammation

• Immune dysregulation

• Potential vascular impacts

• Interacting with key hormones

From a naturopathic perspective, this adds another layer of environmental stress and adds to the load that the body must manage daily.

How Vitamin C May Help Here Too

While research is still evolving, microplastics appear to increase free radical burden a process directly counteracted by antioxidants like Vitamin C.

This suggests that maintaining optimal Vitamin C levels may help support:

• Healthy vascular tissue

• Detoxification pathways

• Immune balance

• Tissue repair

• Resilience against oxidative stress caused by pollutants (including plastics)

Vitamin C is not a cure for microplastic exposure, but it is a well-established, safe, and effective antioxidant that supports the systems most affected by environmental toxins.

Supporting Your Health at PNMC

Our naturopaths Sam Botica, Lesley Oakes, Eddie Enever, Randa Majrouh and Jade Blyth can help assess your nutrient status, environmental exposures, stress levels, and underlying health factors to determine whether you could benefit from nutrient supplementation. Depending on individual cases, there may be benefits in supported detoxing or herbal medicine to facilitate resistance and resilience to these environmental stressors. 

To book a naturopathic consultation or to enquire about IV Vitamin C therapy, contact PNMC on 08 9328 9233.