Vitamin C May Help the Heart

New research findings suggest you can prevent heart disease to a good extent by adding vitamin C supplements to your regular diet. There are certain properties of vitamin C that are theoretically believed to protect the heart from suffering damage. Despite this theoretical belief, several studies examining the effects of vitamin C on the heart failed to prove any real good benefits derived.

The findings of this new research were based on the study of more than 85,000 women over an extended period of 16 years. The study, led by Dr. Stavroula K. Osganian from The Children’s Hospital in Boston started out by surveying the women about their vitamin use and the foods they ate and then followed their diet for the 16 year period of the study.

Out of the women studied at total of 1356 women developed heart disease. After taking into account the women’s age, whether they smoked, and other factors, the researchers found the risk of heart disease dropped as vitamin C intake increased. It was deduced women taking vitamin C pills reduced the chances of their developing heart disease by about 28%.

At the same time, the researchers also found there was little or no benefit to be gained just from consuming vitamin C rich foods without any supplements. If no vitamin C supplements were taken, the amount of vitamin C consumed in food was not enough to produce any real effect on the risks of developing heart disease.

“Effectively speaking, the study findings suggest use of vitamin C supplements for protecting against heart disease,” Dr. Osganian said. At the same time, he expressed opinion that vitamin C pills may not really be beneficial and it may just be that people who choose to use such supplements hailed from a healthier section of the population.

The findings of the new study have been published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Commenting of the findings, Dr. Balz Frei from Oregon State University in Corvallis said vitamin C pills should be compared with inactive "placebo" pills to prove vitamin C carries real benefits for the heart. But such comparative studies are highly expensive and impractical and so don’t provide any real benefits. As a result, it may never be known with certainty whether vitamin C is actually useful in preventing heart disease, he added.

Related Discussions b12 mangel symptome vitamin Do you actually think about your heart? Working of the heart

Related Articles Vitamin E Does Not Prevent Heart Attack Vitamin D Defends Heart against Attacks Vitamin D Levels Important for Heart Health