Vitamin C deficiency

[Guest guest]

Dear Group,

 

Here are a couple of studies on vitamin C.

 

Pay no attention to what is stated about dietary recomendations,

sources etc.

 

Educate yourselves about vitamin C. Take as much as possible and you

will benefit tremendously. F.

 

 

Vitamin C deficiency in the U.S. affects more people

 

More people are at risk for vitamin C deficiency and depletion in the

United States than has been previously thought, according to the

results of a recent study that analyzed vitamin C consumption and

serum levels from participants in a larger national study.

 

For the study on vitamin C, researchers at the Department of

Nutrition, Arizona State University used data collected from the Third

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) to

analyze serum vitamin C levels and information on diet and supplement

use supplied via questionnaires completed by 15,769 respondents.

 

The NHANES III study had 30,818 participants. Most respondents had

dietary and serum vitamin C levels that met or were above the

Recommended Daily Allowance; however, vitamin C deficiency (occurring

among 5%-17%) and vitamin C depletion (occurring among 13%-23%) in

respondents were common.

 

Smokers, those who did not use supplements, and non-Hispanic Black

males had elevated risks of vitamin C deficiency, while Mexican

Americans had lower risks.

 

Researchers concluded that health professionals " should recommend

consumption of vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C and should

recommend supplementation for individuals at risk of vitamin C

deficiency. "

 

American Journal of Public Health 94(5):870-875, 2004

 

 

 

Vitamin C may protect against inflammatory polyarthritis

 

Researchers at the University of Manchester in England have found a

connection between low intake of vitamin C and the risk of developing

inflammatory polyarthritis (IP), a form of rheumatoid arthritis that

involves two or more joints.

 

Interested in studying the association between the consumption of

fruit, vegetables and dietary antioxidants and the risk of developing

IP, researchers conducted a study of a group of men and women between

the ages of 45 and 74.

 

The subjects were all free of arthritis at the beginning of the study.

They kept seven-day diet diaries for the duration of the study.

Researchers then analyzed the diaries of 73 subjects who developed IP

between 1993 and 2001 and compared them to the diaries of 146 similar

participants who remained arthritis free.

 

The team noted that low intakes of fruits, vegetables and vitamin C

increased the risk of developing IP, with subjects who consumed the

lowest amounts having three times the risk of subjects who consumed

the highest amounts.

 

Researchers urged more studies to confirm their results.

 

Ann Rheum Dis. 63(7):843-847, 2004