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Ascorbic Acid Helps Diabetes?

Jun 20, 2011 | By Angela Ogunjimi
Ascorbic Acid Helps Diabetes?
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People with diabetes tend to have lower blood concentrations of ascorbic acid. In a 2010 study by Seoul National University researchers, a sample of diabetics also ate significantly less vitamin C-rich foods. That's troubling for a number of reasons. First, as an antioxidant, it is one of the first lines of defense toward preventing diseases like diabetes. In addition, ascorbic acid is known to have a beneficial effect on many diabetic complications. However, the long-term use of vitamin C supplementation --- as opposed to dietary intake --- needs to be studied more because there is some evidence it's not safe at high doses.

Ascorbic Acid

Perhaps known more widely as vitamin C, ascorbic acid is a water-soluble nutrient found in some foods, especially red peppers, oranges, kiwi, grapefruit and broccoli. It acts as an antioxidant, which means it helps protect your cells from free radical damage. Most healthy women need about 75 mg of vitamin C daily and men need 90 mg, according to the Institute of Medicine. Ascorbic acid is crucial to a number of biological processes. For example it helps to make collagen, the main protein found in your skin, cartilage and tendons. This also makes vitamin C necessary for wound healing. In addition, ascorbic acid helps you absorb iron from plant foods, and it gives a boost to your immune system.

At the Cellular Level

Abnormalities in collagen and glucose-bound proteins known as proteoglycans may be part of the reasons diabetics experience complications, according to a University of Sydney research group in the journal "Diabetes." According to the group, diabetics have less ascorbic acid in their blood, and that deficiency may be behind why those abnormalities happen in the first place. In addition, when your blood glucose is too high, it limits ascorbic acid's ability to build collagen. Insulin can resolve this problem, but the researchers aren't sure how that works. However, diabetes is a disease in which there is a problem using insulin properly. The research group concluded that a high concentration of blood sugar impairs the action of ascorbic acid and heightens the problems caused by low vitamin C levels in the blood.

Cardiovascular Complications

In an analysis of many studies on the effectiveness of vitamin C, the Linus Pauling Institute reports that vitamin C consistently improves dilation and relaxation of blood vessels in people with diabetes. This action helps improve blood pressure. This is significant because heart attack and stroke are among the leading causes of death among diabetics. Scientists have long believed that antioxidants like vitamin C could decrease cardiovascular disease risk in diabetics. For example, the institute references a long-term study of 85,000 women in which vitamin C supplements of 400 mg daily was linked with significantly less heart disease, especially in the diabetics among them. Later evidence in a wide variety of studies have challenged this finding, however. A 1999 article in "Diabetes Spectrum" reported that ascorbic acid "devours" free radicals and prevents their entry into LDL, or bad, cholesterol. The authors also reported that supplementation with ascorbic acid lowers blood sugar and other blood lipids in type 2 diabetics, improving their risk level for heart-related complications.

Other Complications

The National Institutes of Health's MedlinePlus service reported that ascorbic acid has been effectively used in treating diabetic kidney disease. Vitamin C decreases the protein in urine of type 2 diabetics. This decrease lowers their risk of developing more serious forms of kidney disease. In addition, a 2004 article in the "Journal of Reproductive Medicine" stated that low ascorbic acid and low dietary vitamin C intake was associated with higher risk of gestational diabetes. The authors recommended further study to determine whether supplementation in pregnant women would help.

Safety Concerns

Although all Americans are advised to consume vitamin C according to their recommended dietary allowance, supplementing to self-medicate your diabetic condition is not advisable. Talk to your doctor about how to manage diabetes. A number of safety concerns surround vitamin C supplementation. For example, MedlinePlus reports that it might raise blood sugar in some people. Taking doses higher than 300 mg daily could increase your risk of death from heart disease. The service advises taking vitamin C in no dose higher than that found in your basic multivitamin.

References

Article reviewed by Contributing Writer Last updated on: Jun 20, 2011

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