Vitamin C Found To Slash Stroke Risk
Vitamin C is well known for its antioxidant and immune boosting benefits but research now confirms that it could be a lifesaving nutrient for people at risk of strokes too.
The authors of a recent study compared the blood vitamin C levels of 65 healthy people to 65 people who had experienced an intracerebral haemorrhagic strokes or blood vessel rupture inside the brain.
Haemorrhagic strokes involve an accumulation of blood within the skull due to blood vessel ruptures and are less common than the other major type of stroke known as ischaemic strokes caused by a lack of blood flow to the brain due to a blockage (eg. blood clot). However, haemorrhagic strokes are more often deadly.
On average, results showed that people who had had a stroke were depleted in vitamin C while those who had not had a stroke had normal vitamin C levels.
Researchers concluded, “our results show that vitamin C deficiency should be considered a risk factor for this severe type of stroke, as were high blood pressure, drinking alcohol and being overweight in our study.”
While this research is still in its preliminary stages, previous trials have shown that vitamin C has a protective effect against strokes, particularly in smokers.
A 2003 study found that people with the lowest amount of vitamin C in their diets were 30% more likely to have a stroke in comparison to those with higher vitamin C intakes (>133 mg daily).
Smokers with diets high in vitamin C were more than 70% less likely to have a stroke than smokers with diets low in vitamin C (<95 mg daily).
Vitamin C is thought to have a number of cardiovascular health benefits including enhancing endothelial function to help inhibit arterial clogging and lower blood pressure.Vitamin C also helps to counteract cellular damage caused by oxidative stress, which plays a role in strokes.
Getting Your Daily Dose Of Vitamin C
Good dietary sources of vitamin C include red and green capsicums, dark green leafy veggies like kale, broccoli and brussel sprouts, berries – especially strawberries, kiwi fruits, papaya, guavas, oranges and grapefruits.
In supplemental form, we recommend vitamin C formulas containing a variety of different forms of vitamin C for optimal absorption.
Assess Your Cardiovascular Disease Risk
If you are at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease due to your dietary or lifestyle habits, family history or any current health conditions such as high blood pressure, we recommend you have a Cardiovascular Profile done.
Emed’s Cardiovascular profile moves beyond conventional assessments and into inflammatory markers and 21st century medicine genetic screening.
Important markers for cardiovascular disease are assessed including hs-CRP, Fibrinogen, MTHFR, Homocysteine, Fasting Glucose, and Co Q10 levels.
Once your results have been processed, your Emed Practitioner will analyse the test results for you and provide an easy-to-understand but comprehensive manual and report.
Further Reading:
References:
American Academy of Neurology, Can Citrus Ward Off Your Risk of Stroke, 2014
American Academy of Neurology, Diet High in Vitamin C Decreases Stroke Risk, Especially Among Smokers, 2003
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