Vitamin C

Vitamin C may be beneficial in athletic performance (for energy), bronchitis, bruising, burns, capillary fragility, common cold/sore throat, gingivitis (periodontal disease), glaucoma, heart attack, high cholesterol, infection, infertility (male), wound healing, asthma, atherosclerosis, autism, cataracts, diabetes, gastritis, immune function, influenza, iron-deficiency anemia, lead toxicity, pancreatic insufficiency, schizophrenia, skin ulcers and sprains and strains.

Published Clinical Studies

• Raw and cooked vegetables, fruits, selected micronutrients, and breast cancer risk: a case-control study in Germany.
• Effects of a combined micronutrient supplementation on maternal biological status and newborn anthropometrics measurements: a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in apparently healthy pregnant women.
• Decreased levels of plasma vitamin C and increased concentrations of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers after stroke.
• Reduction of C-reactive protein levels through use of a multivitamin.
• Effects of vitamin C on high blood pressure induced by salt in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
• Effect of orange and apple juices on iron absorption in children.
• Antioxidant vitamins and mortality in older persons: findings from the nutrition add-on study to the Medical Research Council Trial of Assessment and Management of Older People in the Community.

1. Kaufmann PA, Gnecchi-Ruscone T, di Terlizzi M, et al. Coronary heart disease in smokers: vitamin C restores coronary microcirculatory function. Circulation 2000;102:1233-8.
2. Zhang S, Hunter DJ, Forman MR, et al. Dietary carotenoids and vitamins A, C, and E and risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 1999;91:547-56.
3. Ascherio A, Rimm EB, Hernan MA, et al. Relation of consumption of vitamin E, vitamin C, and carotenoids to risk for stroke among men in the United States. Ann Intern Med 1999;130:963-70.
4. Labriola D, Livingston R. Possible interactions between dietary antioxidants and chemotherapy. Oncology 1999;13:1003-8.
5. Halperin EC, Gaspar L, George S, et al. A double-blind, randomized, prospective trial to evaluate topical vitamin C solution for the prevention of radiation dermatitis. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 1993;26:413-6.
6. Dwyer JH, Merz NB, Shirocre AM, et al. Progression of early atherosclerosis and intake of vitamin C and vitamin E from supplements and food. The Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study. 41st Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention - Abstract P77. Circulation 2001;103:1365d.
7. Pannelli F, La Rosa F, Saltalamacchia G, et al. Tobacco smoking, coffee, cocoa and tea consumption in relation to mortality from urinary bladder cancer in Italy. Eur J Epidemiol 1989;5:392-7.
8. Slattery ML, West DW, Robison LM. Fluid intake and bladder cancer in Utah. Int J Cancer 1988;42:17-22.
9. Tribble DL. AHA Science Advisory. Antioxidant consumption and risk of coronary heart disease: emphasis on vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene: A statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association. Circulation 1999;99:591-5.
10. McKevoy GK, ed. AHFS Drug Information. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 1998.
11. Cohen HA, Neuman I, Nahum H. Blocking effect of vitamin C in exercise-induced asthma. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1997;151:103-9.
12. Micromedex Healthcare Series. Englewood, CO: MICROMEDEX Inc.
13. Salonen JT, Nyyssonen K, Salonen R, et al. Antioxidant Supplementation in Atherosclerosis Prevention (ASAP) study: a randomized trial of the effect of vitamins E and C on 3-year progression of carotid atherosclerosis. J Intern Med 2000;248:377-86.
14. Yokoyama T, Date C, Kokubo Y, et al. Serum vitamin C concentration was inversely associated with subsequent 20-year incidence of stroke in a Japanese rural community : the shibata study. Stroke 2000;31:2287-94.
15. Gale CR, Martyn CN, Winter PD, Cooper C. Vitamin C and risk of death from stroke and coronary heart disease in cohort of elderly people. BMJ 1995;310:1563-6.
16. Alster TS, West TB. Effect of topical vitamin C on postoperative carbon dioxide laser resurfacing erythema. Dermatol Surg 1998;24:331-4.
17. Slivka A, Kang JO, Cohen G. Ascorbic acid. N Engl J Med 1986;315:708-9.
18. Daniel TA, Nawarskas JJ. Vitamin C in the prevention of nitrate tolerance. Ann Pharmacother 2000;34:1193-7.
19. Hodby ED, Hirsh J, Adeniyi-Jones C. The influence of drugs upon the anticoagulant activity of heparin. Can Med Assoc J 1972;106:562-4.
20. Watanabe H, Masaaki K, Ohtsuka S, et al. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the preventative effect of supplemental oral vitamin C on attenuation of development of nitrate tolerance. J Am Coll Cardiol 1998;31:1323-9.