Vitamin C Supplementation Lowers Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol
Daily supplements of vitamin C may lower levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol by five percent, and subsequently reduce risk factors linked to cardiovascular disease, according to a new meta-analysis (a review of several studies).
Doses of at least 500 mg per day were necessary to produce the effects, which were accompanied by an 8.8 percent reduction in triglyceride levels, according to the meta-analysis of 13 randomized clinical trials published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine.
“Although the magnitude of change in LDL cholesterol and triglycerides appeared modest, it can be estimated that an LDL cholesterol change of -7.9 mg/dL could potentially translate to a 6.6 percent reduction in coronary heart disease and that a change in triglycerides of -20.1 mg/dL could translate to a 2.4 percent reduction in coronary heart disease risk,” wrote Marc McRae from National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, IL.
McRae identified 13 trials that included 14 separate groups including 405 subjects with high cholesterol levels. The subjects received vitamin C supplements of at least 500 mg per day for a period of three to 24 weeks. The studies were either a crossover double-blind design or placebo-controlled double-blind design. The average age of the study participants was 58.9, and 60% of the subjects were men.
McRae added: “Supplementation with at least 500 mg per day of vitamin C, for a minimum of four weeks, can result in a significant decrease in serum LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. However, there was a non-significant elevation of serum HDL (good) cholesterol.”
“Although [the observed] changes are modest, any small change can have beneficial effects on the incidence of coronary heart disease, especially in light of the low cost and absence of toxicity when supplementing vitamin C within the ranges of 500 to 1,000 mg per day,” McRae concluded.
Journal of Chiropractic Medicine 7(2):48-58, 2008
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