Vitamin C Found to Help Maintain Healthy Cholesterol

by | Sep 19, 2008 | 2008, Blood Lipids, Cardiovascular Health, Vitamin C

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Supplementation with at least 500 mg per day of vitamin C, for a minimum of four weeks, can result in a significant decrease in serum LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

Having high cholesterol levels (called “hypercholesterolemia”) is a primary risk factor leading to coronary heart disease. This condition resulted in 452,300 deaths in 2004 and is “the single leading cause of death in America today” (1). The American Heart Association estimates that nearly 37 million Americans have total cholesterol levels greater than 240 mg/dL (2).

Now a new study (3) has found that vitamin C may benefit cholesterol health. Previous research has shown that 500 mg of vitamin C per day reduced total cholesterol levels in both borderline-high and high hypercholesterolemic groups by 7.6 and 17.2 mg/dL, respectively (4). An analysis of nine studies found that those who took at least 700 mg of vitamin C per day had a 25% reduction in the incidence of coronary heart disease (5). Building on these findings, researchers analyzed data from 13 randomized, controlled trials published between 1970 and June 2007. They examined 14 separate group populations with high cholesterol levels and supplemented with at least 500 mg of vitamin C per day for between 3 and 24 weeks.

The researchers found that those in the vitamin C groups had an average drop in LDL cholesterol of 7.9 mg/dL (average drop of 5%) while no significant increases were seen in HDL cholesterol (average increase of 1.1 mg/dL or 2.3%) was seen. Regarding triglycerides, those in the vitamin C groups had a drop of 20.1 mg/dL. Finally, the researchers state that the 7.9 mg/dL drop in LDL cholesterol “could potentially translate to a 6.6% reduction in coronary heart disease” and that the 20.1 mg/dL drop in triglyceride levels “could translate to a 2.4% reduction in coronary heart disease risk.”

For the researchers, “Supplementation with at least 500 mg per day of vitamin C, for a minimum of four weeks, can result in a significant decrease in serum LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations.”

Source: McRae, Marc P. “Vitamin C supplementation lowers serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides: a meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials.” Journal of chiropractic medicine 7, no. 2 (2008): 48-58.

© 2008 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Posted September 19, 2008.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at
www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

Reference:

  1. “Cardiovasular Disease Statistics” posted on the American Heart Association website.
  2.  W. Rosamond, K. et al., Heart disease and stroke statistics—2007 update: a report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee, Circulation 115 (5) (2007), pp. e69–e171.
  3. McRae MP. Vitamin C supplementation lowers serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides: a meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine 2008; 7(2): 48-58.
  4. M.P. McRae, Vitamin C supplementation for treating hypercholesterolemia: a meta-analysis of 16 randiomized controlled trials, J Am Nutraceut Ass 10 (2) (2007), pp. 21–28.
  5.  P. Knekt, J. Ritz, M.A. Pereira, E.J. O’Reilly, K. Augustsson and G.E. Fraser et al., Antioxidant vitamins and coronary heart disease risk: a pooled analysis of 9 cohorts, Am J Clin Nutr 80 (6) (2004), pp. 1508–1520.