Lee Swanson Research Update

A Diet Rich in Vitamin C May Help Slash Diabetes Risk

August 2008

Increased blood levels of vitamin C may reduce the risk of developing diabetes by 62%, according to a new study from Cambridge, England.

The study, which followed 21,831 men and women for 12 years, also found a weaker association between fruit and vegetable intake and a reduced diabetes risk, supporting the importance of the five-a-day regimen. The findings are published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

“The strong independent association observed in this prospective study, together with biological plausibility, provides persuasive evidence of a beneficial effect of vitamin C and fruit and vegetable intake on diabetes risk,” wrote lead author Anne-Helen Harding from Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

Harding and co-workers analyzed dietary patterns using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) amongst the participants of the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer—Norfolk. The men and women had an average age of 58.4 at the start of the study, and women made up two-thirds of the study population. Over 12 years of follow-up, 735 incident cases of diabetes were diagnosed.

Correlating blood levels of vitamin C and diabetes, the researchers found that men and women with the highest blood levels (at least 1.10 and 1.29 mg/dL, respectively) had a 62% reduction in their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to men and women with the lowest blood levels (less than 0.56 and 0.77 mg/dL, respectively).

Moreover, men and women with the highest fruit and vegetable intake (459 and 550 grams per day, respectively) had a 22% reduction in their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to men and women with the lowest fruit and vegetable intake (289 and 382 grams per day, respectively).

Archives of Internal Medicine168(14):1493-1499, 2008.

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