A recent study presented at the American Heart Association’s Annual Meetings in Orlando in November, 2011 showed that there was an inverse relationship between vitamin C levels and an increased risk of development of heart failure. This study examined otherwise healthy 9,187 men and 11,112 women aged 39 to 79 years participating in the “European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition”. Their plasma vitamin C concentrations were correlated with incident fatal and non-fatal heart failure events. During a mean follow up of 12.8 years, Dr Roman Pfister and co-researchers from Europe found that for every increase of 20 μmol/L (1 SD) in plasma vitamin C concentration, there was an associated 17% relative decrease in risk for heart failure.

Two previous major studies have found no cardio-protective effect of vitamin C supplementation. In the Physicians’ Health Study II, supplementation with 500 mg of vitamin C every other day in 14,641 US male physicians over the age of 50, was compared with placebo. After 8 years of follow up, vitamin C did not have any beneficial effect on total mortality, heart attacks, stroke or cardiovascular disease death. This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in the November 12, 2008 issue.

In another study involving 8171 women with a mean age of 60, during a follow up of 9 years, no overall benefit from vitamin C was observed for prevention of cardiovascular events. This study was done by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, with the results published in the August 13, 2007 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Since vitamin C is an antioxidant, there has been great excitement regarding its potential cardio-protective effects. Oxidative stress is closely linked to the development of atherosclerosis and its major complications – heart attacks and strokes. Vitamin C has been primarily used to prevent scurvy. It is also beneficial in preventing gout by reducing serum uric acid levels. Its role in preventing common colds has not been scientifically validated.

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, with almost 90% of our intake coming from fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits, peppers, broccoli, and tomatoes. Kakadu plum, camu camu fruit and rose hips contain extremely high concentration of this vitamin. Vitamin C is also present in some cuts of meat, especially liver and raw oysters. In the United States, vitamin C supplements are widely used. It is available in a variety of forms, including pills, drink mixes and crystals, either naked or in capsules. However a review all the major studies on vitamin C and cardiovascular disease, demonstrates no scientific confirmation that nutritional supplementation with vitamin C is heart protective

Levels of plasma vitamin C correlate consistently with fruit and vegetable intake  and an increased intake of fruit and vegetables is associated with a significant increase in plasma vitamin C concentration. Since studies with vitamin C supplementation provide no support for cardiovascular protection and studies using vitamin C levels as a biomarker for fruit and vegetable intake appear to show distinct cardiovascular benefit, the ‘writing’ is on the wall – do not eat nutrients but eat foods rich in nutrients – namely plenty of fruits and vegetables. The cardiovascular benefits of fruit and vegetable intake may not be limited to vitamin C, as there are many other nutrients in fruits and vegetables, such as potassium and magnesium, that also have positive effects on the heart.

The North American Dietary Reference Intake in 2008 recommended 90 milligrams of vitamin C per day and no more than 2,000 milligrams per day. Toxicity is however rare, as excess intake is not absorbed, and excesses in the blood rapidly cleared in the urine.