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Vitamin C & Life

May 12, 2011 | By Gord Kerr
Vitamin C & Life
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A high intake of vitamin C could improve life expectancy by six years, according to Natural News. Not only does vitamin C help prevent diseases that shorten life, the vitamin may have life-sustaining properties. Vitamin C repairs blood vessels, which may help prevent heart disease, the leading causes of death in the United States.

Identification

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is not manufactured or stored in the body so must be constantly supplied from food. It is essential for normal growth and tissue repair. Necessary for the production of collagen, the protein in skin, scar tissue, ligaments, tendons and blood vessels, vitamin C helps heal wounds and maintains healthy bones, gums and teeth. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, which means it helps prevent damage caused by free radicals, by-products formed when the body converts food to energy. These free radicals may be largely responsible for various life-threatening health conditions, including cancer and heart disease. The recommended daily allowance, or RDA, is 90 mg for adult males and 75 mg for adult females. Good sources of vitamin C are all fruits and vegetables, especially green peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli and leafy greens.

Lung Disease

Using data collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey as well as from the National Center for Health Statistics, the association of vitamin C intake and lung function was examined. The studies included more than 18,000 Americans, aged 17 years or older. Findings, published in the 2000 edition of "American Journal of Epidemiology," provides evidence that a positive association exists between the antioxidant vitamin C and lung disease because of the vitamin's ability to protect lung tissue against oxidant-induced damage. Vitamin C proved responsible for maintaining antioxidant capacity in the aqueous phase of the cell, with some variation according to smoking status.

Influence of Sex

In a 2000 study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute contributed low serum vitamin C concentrations in men with a 57 percent higher risk of dying from any cause and a 62 percent higher risk of dying from cancer. In contrast, vitamin C levels were not related to an increased mortality in women.

Cardiovascular Disease

The Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Cancer Risk studied the effects of vitamin C on life expectancy and morbidity from cardiovascular disease in Asian men and women. Almost 860,000 subjects were questioned over a 16.5 year period. The study found the highest intakes of vitamin C resulted in lower numbers of total stroke, coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease for women but significant differences for men were inconclusive, as published in the journal "Stroke" in 2011. The overall conclusion of the study was that vitamin C has an inverse association with mortality from cardiovascular disease in Japanese women.

Age

Because vitamin C and other antioxidant concentrations in the body decrease with age, the elderly are at risk from poor nutrition and increased oxidative stress. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine conducted a study to examine the association between antioxidants, such as vitamin C, and mortality. A total of 1,214 participants aged 75 to 84 were assessed for almost five years. In 2003 the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" reported the findings of a strong inverse trend for ascorbate concentrations and mortality from cardiovascular disease. Highest vitamin C levels reduced mortality risk by nearly half. Conclusions of the study suggested low blood vitamin C concentrations in the elderly are predictive of mortality.

References

Article reviewed by RandyS Last updated on: May 12, 2011

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