Linus Pauling explained why.
Young people need vitamin C too!
As usual, the mainstream eventually catches up with Pauling.
Study Links Vitamin C to Lower Death Rates Reuters Mar 1 2001 7:22PM
LONDON (Reuters) - If you want to lessen your risk of dying of heart disease and other chronic illnesses, eat more fruits and vegetables, British researchers said Friday.
In addition to exercise, a healthy diet, no cigarettes and moderate amounts of alcohol, British scientists said eating more fruit and vegetables high in vitamin C could also help.
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is commonly used to boost the immune system to ward off colds and the flu, and is an antioxidant that destroys harmful substances in the body, called free radicals, that can cause cancer.
New research by scientists at the University of Cambridge shows it can also reduce the risk of dying from chronic disorders like cardiovascular and heart disease.
"Our findings suggest that an increase in dietary intake of foods rich in ascorbic acid might have benefits for cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in men and women," Professor Kay-Tee Khaw, who led the research team, said in a study in The Lancet medical journal.
It also adds to a growing body of evidence about the health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables. Five portions a day are recommended to maintain optimum health.
Vitamin C affects many functions in the body and is vital for the production of hormones and collagen, the most abundant protein in the body.
Fresh fruit such as oranges, grapefruit, apples and bananas and green vegetables are good sources of vitamin C.
The researchers studied nearly 20,000 men and women, aged 45-79, living in Norfolk in eastern England. Each person filled out a health and lifestyle questionnaire and they were examined at the start of the study, when concentrations of vitamin C in their blood plasma were also recorded.
A four-year follow-up showed the levels of vitamin C concentrations were inversely related to deaths from all causes including cardiovascular disease.
"Those people with the highest levels of vitamin C have a 50 percent reduction in their mortality levels," Ailsa Welch, a nutritionist who contributed to the study, told Reuters.
"Vitamin C coming from fruits and vegetables is the important thing. It may be that other components in fruits and vegetables are also protective."
The researchers found that a daily increase equivalent to 50g of fruits and vegetables was linked with a 20 percent decrease in the risk of death.
Khaw and her team said it remains to be seen whether vitamin C supplements in pills or powder form are beneficial.
Submitted by Jon Campbell