Vitamin C - An Essential Part
of Cardiovascular Health

Vitamin C has been used to help treat many ailments, from the common cold to cancer. It actually came to the forefront of research back in the 1930's when a Hungarian researcher, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, first isolated this vitamin. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1937 for this discovery. This vitamin was identified as the substance found in fruits and vegetables that was capable of preventing and curing scurvy, a disease that had killed thousands of sailors who had to survive for months at a time on diets low on vitamin C. Szent-Gyorgyi gave the substance the name of ascorbic acid. This vitamin is known today as a water-soluble vitamin, meaning it dissolves in water.

The following are some of the benefits ascorbic acid can provide:

1. Helps with the formation of collagen, an important protein in the body's connective tissue.

2. Stimulates wound healing.

3. Aids with the absorption of iron from the intestinal tract,
which reduces the risk of iron-deficiency anemia.

4. Maintains the health of your immune system by stimulating
the production of a number of antibodies that can resist
bacteria and viruses.

5. Protects the body against free radicals and the potential
injuries they cause, which includes damage to the
cardiovascular system.

At the UCLA School of Public Health, researchers looked at the relationship between ascorbic acid and death rates in more than 11,300 adults over a period of 10 years. In their study published in Epidemiology in 1992, the individuals who had the highest intake (more than 50 mg per day), were more likely to remain disease-free than those with a lower intake. The higher-intake group not only had a lower overall death rate, but also a lower risk of death from both heart disease and cancer.

Our bodies do not produce ascorbic acid. This makes it especially important that you consume adequate amounts of this vitamin through your diet and supplementation.

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