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Heart Disease In The News Vitamin C improves survival British scientists report in The Lancet that diets high in vitamin C - sufficient to cause even small increases in the blood levels of vitamin C - results in a 20% reduction in the risk of death. The reduction in risk was present despite the subjects' age, cholesterol, or blood pressure, and those with the highest levels of vitamin C had even greater reductions in the risk of death from all causes. To conduct this study, investigators measured vitamin C levels in almost 20,000 people between the ages of 45 to 79, and then followed them for 4 years. The mechanism by which high vitamin C levels improved survival is not entirely clear. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, but some investigators in this study speculate that increased levels of vitamin C may simply reflect patients with a more healthy lifestyle - one that may include fruits and vegetables, exercise, and weight management, for instance. If this is true, the vitamin C in this study might simply be a marker for people who have a lower risk due to relatively good general health. |
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