There’s another reason to add vitamin C-rich healthy foods to your diet: a new study has found that healthy foods that contain vitamin C can help lower your risk of suffering from a common hemorrhagic stroke.
The study, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting at the end of April, compared 65 people who had a hemorrhagic stroke or a blood vessel break inside the brain with 65 people who had never had a stroke.
Then, the researchers analyzed the levels of vitamin C in their blood (this is a much more accurate measure than simply asking people to recall their healthy food intake, for example—us humans tend to forget, exaggerate or underestimate how much we eat). The results? Those who had a vitamin C deficiency were more likely to also have a stroke.
There are many common risks that make you more susceptible to having a stroke, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, having another illness like diabetes or heart disease, smoking, stress, and drinking alcohol or being overweight.
This study, however, shows that something as simple as your dietary intake of vitamin C healthy foods can also impact your risk factors. In fact, the researchers are suggesting that being vitamin C-deficient should be considered a risk factor for stroke.
“Our results show that vitamin C deficiency should be considered a risk factor for this severe type of stroke, as were high blood pressure, drinking alcohol and being overweight in our study,” said Stéphane Vannier, one of the study’s authors.
While she said more research is needed to understand the connection between vitamin C and your risk of stroke, she pointed out that vitamin C may help regulate blood pressure, which in turn lowers your risk for stroke. There may be other factors at play as well, such as the fact that vitamin C helps your body create collagen, an important protein needed for healthy skin, bones, and tissues. Other studies have also found a link between vitamin C deficiency and heart disease.
Well, the research might not be completed just yet, but you can still start reaping the benefits of vitamin C right now! While you may associate oranges with vitamin C, there are actually many healthy foods that contain more vitamin C than oranges. Is there any easier way to not only prevent strokes, but also just help you live a healthy life?
I’m off to the supermarket on a vitamin C mission.
Sources:
“Can citrus ward off your risk of stroke?” ScienceDaily web site; http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140214203851.htm
