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Vitamin C Shown to Cut Risk By More than a Third
University of Cambridge researchers recently concluded a large study, spanning a decade, that measured vitamin C levels in more than 20,000 people.
Obviously, the vitamin C blood levels tended to be much higher in people who ate more fruits and vegetables than in those who didn't. But when the participants were divided into four groups based on vitamin C levels, those with the highest concentrations of the vitamin in their blood were found to have a 42 percent lower stroke risk than those with the lowest concentrations.
Even after the researchers adjusted for other stroke risk factors (like smoking) the association was still seen.
The study is one more indication that eating fruits and vegetables every day may have cardiovascular benefits.
A total of 20,649 men and women between the ages of 40 and 79 at entry were included in the British trial, reported in the latest issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
During an average follow-up of 9.5 years, 448 of the study participants had strokes.
Vitamin C levels may prove to be a good predictive indicator of stroke risk, independent of known risk factors such as age, smoking history, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
