The `C' Section - indications that Vitamin C may help reduce the effects of stress and reduce body lead levels - Brief Article

Vegetarian Times, Dec, 1999 by Cristin Marandino

Just when you thought you knew everything you needed to know about vitamin C, two new studies come along and demonstrate additional reasons to get enough of this mild yet effective antioxidant on a daily basis.

The first study, out of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, suggests that vitamin C supplementation may be a good idea not just in cold and flu season but also during particularly stressful times. Researchers found that the vitamin may help ward off such illnesses as upper-respiratory infections by lowering the effects of stress on the body. When we're stressed-out, our bodies release certain hormones as a part of the "fight or flight" reaction. Once circulating in the body, these hormones wreak havoc on the immune system, weakening the body's defense against disease. The scientists discovered, however, that increasing vitamin C intake may help boost the level of the IgG antibody--our principal line of defense against infection. While the study did not conclude how much vitamin C is necessary to bolster the immune system and counter the hormones' effects, it did suggest that the necessary dose is far higher than the current RDA, which is just 60 milligrams (mgs.). Most experts recommend a daily supplemental dose of 1,000 to 1,500 mgs.

In more C-worthy news: While testing people for high levels of lead in their blood, researchers at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of California at San Francisco found that low levels of vitamin C are associated with high blood levels of lead. This condition could cause lead poisoning, the symptoms of which include abdominal pain, headaches, memory and appetite loss. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (June 23, 1999), reports that those most at risk for dangerous lead levels are smokers (since smoking diminishes the absorption of vitamin C) and children, who are most commonly exposed to lead-based paint, dust particles and soil. Researchers found that getting 1,000 mgs. a day of vitamin C through diet and/or supplements was enough to significantly decrease lead levels.