Vitamin C cuts the risk of early death

It helps build connective tissue and is a potent antioxidant

July 08, 2015 03:39 pm | Updated March 29, 2016 03:35 am IST - London

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables packed with vitamin C will substantially cut the rick of heart attacks and early death, says a study.

Researchers examined 100,000 Danish people’s intake of fruit and vegetables as well as their DNA.

“We can see that those with the highest intake of fruit and vegetables have a 15 per cent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a 20 per cent lower risk of early death,” said Camilla Kobylecki, medical doctor at the department of clinical biochemistry at Herlev and Gentofte Hospital in Denmark.

Vitamin C helps build connective tissue and is also a potent antioxidant that protects cells and biological molecules from the damage which causes many diseases, including cardiovascular disease.

The human body is not able to produce vitamin C, which means that we must get the vitamin from our diet, said the study that appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“Eating a lot of fruit and vegetables is a natural way of increasing vitamin C blood levels. You can get vitamin C supplements but it is a good idea to get your vitamin C by eating a healthy diet,” added Boerge Nordestgaard from University of Copenhagen.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.