Vitamin C Saves
Lives, Cuts Cancer, Says New NIH Study
Source: Jean
Carper's Newsletter "Stop Aging Now"
Here’s more proof
that you are smart to take vitamin C. The vitamin can prolong life, say two
large new studies, one from the government’s top health-research agency, the
National Institutes of Health.
To discover which
nutrients most affect mortality, NIH researchers analyzed government data from
the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey involving more than
9,000 participants over 12 to 16 years. The clear winner with the most dramatic
lifesaving powers—vitamin C! Specifically, having the highest blood levels of
vitamin C cut a man’s chances of dying of any cause by an astonishing 43
percent! Further, men with the highest blood levels of vitamin C were 38 percent
less apt to die of cancer than men with the lowest vitamin C blood levels.
Supplements made a
big difference. Of men with the highest blood vitamin C, 19 percent took vitamin
C alone and 17 percent took a multivitamin that presumably contained vitamin C.
That compares with less than one percent of men with the lowest blood vitamin C.
Men with high vitamin C also took in three times more of the vitamin from their
food. At worst risk of death: men who got less than 60 milligrams of vitamin C
daily from any source.
Surprisingly, the
new study found no relationship between vitamin C and mortality of women,
although other studies have found vitamin C protective for women also. One
possible reason: vitamin C appeared to work better against non-hormone cancers,
such as lung cancer, than breast cancer. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
2000;72:139-45)
Another large diet
study, the Seven Countries Study including about 13,000 middle aged men, also
reports that those eating the most vitamin C had the lowest death rates from all
causes over 25 years. Eating saturated animal fat, on the other hand, led to
earlier deaths. (Int J Epidemiol 2000 Apr;29(2):260- 5)
These new findings
are more compelling evidence of the power of vitamin C—from both supplements
and fruits and vegetables—in deterring chronic diseases, including cancer and
prolonging life.
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