A. Bendich et L. Langseth, THE HEALTH-EFFECTS OF VITAMIN-C SUPPLEMENTATION - A REVIEW, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 14(2), 1995, pp. 124-136
A comprehensive review of the literature indicates that populations wi
th long-term consumption of higher than RDA levels of vitamin C (great
er than or equal to 60 mg/day) from foods and/or supplements have redu
ced risks of cancer at several sites, cardiovascular disease, and cata
racts. The safety of higher than RDA intakes of vitamin C is confirmed
in eight placebo-controlled, double-blind studies and six non-placebo
clinical trials in which up to 10,000 mg of vitamin C was consumed da
ily for up to 3 years. There are no clinical data which suggest that v
itamin C's enhancement of non-heme iron absorption in individuals with
low iron status could be a critical factor in the possible increased
risk of heterozygous hemochromatosis-related cardiovascular disease. I
n fact, the cumulative data do not confirm that iron status is related
to risk of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, higher than RDA intakes
of vitamin C have been associated with several indices of lowered card
iovascular disease risk including increases in HDL, and decreases in L
DL oxidation, blood pressure and cardiovascular mortality.