Vitamin C has a number of health benefits, and now researchers have found yet another. It seems that women with higher blood levels of vitamin C may be less likely to develop gallstones than women with lower levels. In men, however, there appears to be no link between vitamin C and risk of gallstones, which can develop when bile, cholesterol, calcium salts and other substances come together to form a mass in the gallbladder, the organ that stores bile. Gallstones often exist without causing symptoms, and surgery is frequently performed when the stones cause severe pain and inflammation.

The investigators looked at more than 13,000 participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). The study subjects got their vitamin C from a number of sources, including vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables, as well as supplements. Women with high blood levels of vitamin C were less likely to have gallstones than those with lower levels. Those women with the highest level of vitamin C were 39% less likely to have been diagnosed with gallstones and 33% less likely to have symptom-free gallstones than women with the lowest levels.

Archives of Internal Medicine April 10, 2000;160:931-936