Researchers at the Children’s Hospital & Research Center at Oakland in California have completed a study that has shown that vitamin C could be a therapeutic agent that improves lung function.
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Hard Training Athletes Should Supplement With Vitamin C
In this two-year study, vitamin C was shown to improve the health of the cells that line the surface of the lungs. It appears that vitamin C supports the normal hydration of airway surfaces, where as a vitamin C deficiency can lead to dry, sticky mucus membranes coating the air passage. Once the air passage isn’t adequately moist, it will become prone to infections, which may ultimately trigger asthma attacks in asthmatics.
Low levels of vitamin C in the body appear to play a role in the progression of common inflammatory airway diseases such as asthma. An inadequate supply of this important vitamin may increase a person’s the susceptibility to asthma and respiratory tract infections such as chest colds and the flu.
Better Lung Function with Vit. C
The vitamin C requirements of hard training athletes are extensive. People that exercise intensely have greater demands for this vitamin. To ensure optimal lung function and decrease the risk of infections, hard training athletes should supplement with vitamin C, 500-1000mgs per day.
Vitamin C Supplementation Keeps Your Heart Healthy
Heart disease doesn’t start when you hit your 40’s, its manifests from the age of 4. Heart disease is a product of your lifestyle over a lifetime. In the US people are diagnosed with heart disease at a younger age every year. According to a new study completed by scientists at The Children’s Hospital in Boston, people who take vitamin C supplements every day will experience a definite protective effect against developing coronary heart disease.
The research utilized data via diet surveys completed in 1980 by roughly 85,000 female nurses together with 16 years of follow-up data on cardiovascular disease cases that were gathered during a nurses’ health study. The results were published in the July 2003 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
After adjusting for age, smoking, along with a number of additional heart risk factors, the study discovered vitamin C dietary supplement use was connected with a 28% lower risk of coronary heart disease. Based on the data, modest amounts of vitamin C (200 to 500-milligrans per day) would reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in most healthy people.
Balz Frei, director of the Linus Pauling Institute recommends that even well-designed trials may not fully answer all our questions about the health benefits of vitamin C supplementation. Balz recommends that supplementation (with vitamin and minerals) is a low cost, effective health insurance policy.
While this study cannot provide conclusive evidence for a protective role of vitamin C against heart disease, is biologically plausible that the antioxidant properties of vitamin C help protect against heart disease. Supplementation with vitamin C particularly for active people is very sensible advice.