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Fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C are associated
with a reduced risk of death from all causes
including heart disease and stroke. Even small increases in levels of
vitamin C in the blood reduced the risk of heart disease and death in
healthy adults.
For instance, just one
extra serving of fruit or vegetable was associated with a 20% lower risk
of death from all causes regardless of age, blood pressure, cholesterol,
smoking, diabetes and use of dietary supplements, findings show.
The risk of death was
cut in half for individuals who had the highest levels of vitamin C in
their blood compared with those who had the lowest levels.
The report adds to a large body of evidence linking
a vitamin C-rich diet with better health and longer life and suggests
that small dietary changes could have a profound effect on health.
It is important to know that the antioxidant vitamin
C alone is probably not responsible for the lower risk of disease and
death observed in the study. Rather, intake of the vitamin is a marker
for an overall healthy lifestyle that includes:
- a nutrient-rich diet
- exercise
- not smoking
The blood levels of vitamin C appear to be a strong
and specific indicator of high fruit and vegetable intake, and it may
be all the other components of high fruit and vegetable intake that are
protective for mortality, not just vitamin C.
As an antioxidant, the vitamin moves through the blood,
mopping up DNA-damaging free
radicals. These compounds
have been linked with chronic disease and aging.
In other findings, high blood levels of vitamin C
were associated with a decreased risk for cancer among
men but not women.
The study results are based on a single measurement
of vitamin C in the blood of nearly 20,000 individuals aged 45 to 79 in
England, and medical data over a 4-year period.
The Lancet March 3, 2001;357:657-663
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