A study published in the January 2008 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that persons with a mean age of 58 years with the highest levels of vitamin C had a 42% lower risk of having a stroke than did the study participants with the lowest level of plasma vitamin C.Correlation does not always mean causation, so although data from this study cannot be used to infer a causal relation between intake or plasma concentration of vitamin C and risk of stroke, they can justifiably be used to suggest that low plasma vitamin C concentrations may serve as an excellent biological marker in identifying individuals at high risk of stroke.
It's important to note that data from this study and others suggests that smoking dramatically lowers plasma vitamin C. So, if you are still smoking - give it up!
5 comments:
Ellen, I don’t quite understand “plasma” vitamin C. Can you increase your levels of it by OJ and a multivitamin (like Oculair)?
Also, could this correlation suggest plasma vitamin C helps to thin or reduce the plaque that causes a stroke?
Plasma is the liquid portion of blood where red blood cells are suspended.
Blood plasma contains nutrients, including vitamins,minerals, proteins, fibrinogen and albumin -therefore it is used to test for nutritional deficiencies.
Blood serum is the clear fluid produced when the clotting factors have been removed.
A number of studies have suggested a correlation between plasma nutritional deficiency and stroke.
How much Vitamin C should we take a day?
The RDA for Vitaman C was recently revised upward from 60 mg per day to 100 mg per day for adults.
That is the amount required to prevent deficiency disease like scurvy. The amount required to prevent chronic degenerative disease and to achieve optimal health is higher.
Our recommendation is 500 mg per day for optimal health.
And a regular sized orange only has about 70mg, so just eating oranges isn't going to make it.
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