title: Vitamin C and cardiovascular risk factors.
abstract: The concept that ascorbic acid (vitamin C) supplementation protects against coronary heart disease developed in the late 1970s when vitamin C intakes in industrialized nations were lower than at present. Supplementation was then shown to lower plasma total cholesterol and, among some elderly men, to raise high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. However, among people in initially good vitamin C nutriture, these effects are usually not seen. In five populations of essentially healthy people, blood pressure has been found to correlate negatively with vitamin C status. Recently, in a placebo-controlled, double-blinded study, extra ascorbic acid for 6 wk was observed to lower systolic and pulse pressure in a small group of borderline hypertensive subjects.
authors.affiliation: Carbohydrate Nutrition Laboratory, US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Trout
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D002784:Cholesterol; D001205:Ascorbic Acid