Vitamin C is a critical supplement in your program to improve cardiovascular health to avoid degenerative diseases.
The heart is the central organ of the cardiovascular system. Its main function is the pumping of blood throughout the body 70 times per minute. More than 100,000 times a day. Thus, the heart is the busiest organ of the human body and the organ undergoing the greatest mechanical stress. The heart and the blood vessels are composed of millions of cells whose proper function determines cardiovascular health.
vitamin C Impacts several aspects of cardiac health
One of the most intensely studied areas of vitamin C benefits is the area of cardiovascular health. Because researchers are finding that vitamin C impacts several aspects of cardiac health, ranging from blood pressure to endothelial health. Perhaps it’s not surprising that as the relationship between oxidative damage, inflammation, and atherosclerosis becomes increasingly investigated by science, vitamin C is seen as a key protective element against many aspects of cardiovascular disease and improves cardiovascular health.
For years, scientists have warned us against the dangerous buildup of plaque that can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Researchers are investigating the possibility that vitamin C may play a role in reducing our risk of plaque buildup.
In the early stages of atherosclerosis, white blood cells called monocytes migrate and stick to the walls of the endothelium. Once this process begins, our vessel walls begin to thicken and lose their elasticity, which paves the way for atherosclerosis.
Interestingly, British researchers studied the effects of vitamin C supplementation (250 mg/day) on this adhesion process in 40 healthy adults. Before the study, subjects with low pre-supplementation levels of vitamin C had 30% greater monocyte adhesion than normal, putting them at higher risk for atherosclerosis. Impressively, after six weeks of supplementation, the rate of this dangerous monocyte adhesion actually fell by 37%.
reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease at the molecular level
The researchers went on to demonstrate that the same small dose of vitamin C was able to normalize a molecule that white blood cells use to adhere to the endothelium. The findings indicated that through supplementation with vitamin C, scientists were able to regulate how specific genes produce vital proteins. Thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease at the molecular level.
Building on this important work, scientific researchers in 2005 studied the impact of antioxidant supplementation on degenerative aortic stenosis. It is an age-associated heart valve disorder that has an inflammatory component. The scientists studied 100 patients with mild-to-moderate aortic stenosis, randomly assigning 41 of them to receive vitamins C (1,000 mg/day) and E (400 IU/day), 39 to receive vitamin C only (1,000 mg/day), and 20 to serve as untreated controls. Both supplemented groups experienced significant reductions in levels of several important adhesion molecules, potentially reducing further inflammatory damage to the heart valves.
When Finnish researchers looked at studies involving nearly 300,000 people over 10 years, they found that taking more than 700 milligrams of C supplements daily reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease by 25 percent.
The researchers evaluated 212 patients with heart failure, with an average age of 61. Those with low vitamin C intake had higher levels of inflammatory C-reactive protein, predicting increased circulatory inflammation and heat stress. These patients had higher rates of significant cardiovascular events, as well as death in the one-year, follow-up period.
The key to optimal cardiovascular health
Vitamin C and certain minerals and trace elements are the fuel for the body’s cells. They are the key to optimal cardiovascular health. If the heart cells become vitamin deficient, they may fail to perform properly and different forms of heart disease develop.
Vitamin deficiencies in the electrical cells of the heart lead to irregular heartbeats or arrhythmia. Vitamin deficiencies in the heart muscle cells lead to impaired blood pumping, as well as shortness of breath and edema.
And just as vitamin C helps preserve vascular integrity, it is also proving beneficial in combating other risk factors for endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease to improve cardiovascular health.
A recent study showed that men who consume at least 300 milligrams of vitamin C, through food and supplements, slash their risk of death from heart disease by 40 percent.
Multivitamin for men provides the most complete and effective men’s daily multivitamin with vitamin C. You can take them orally each day to achieve these benefits.
Multivitamin for Men – General Men’s Health – Men’s Sexual Health – Antioxidants for Men