Everybody who enjoys working out in the gym might want to add vitamin C to their list of fitness essentials. According to a recent study in the Journal of Nutrition, from the University of East Anglia, vitamin C may be essential for preserving strong muscles after the age of 50.
Researchers have discovered that older adults who consume high levels of vitamin C have the strongest and healthiest skeletal muscle mass. As common as gray hair and wrinkles are, losing some strength and muscle mass as one ages can be as well. In some instances, this muscle loss can result in illnesses (such as sarcopenia), frailty, increase fracture risk, a greater fall risk, and a generally lower quality of life. Millions of individuals may profit from this discovery.
It’s no secret people lose strength and skeletal muscle mass as they get older. According to lead researcher Professor Ailsa Welch of UEA’s Norwich Medical School, “People over 50 lose up to 1% of their skeletal muscle mass each year, and this loss is thought to affect more than 50 million people worldwide.” It’s a major issue because this loss of muscle can result in sarcopenia, physical impairment, type 2 diabetes, frailty, and other negative outcomes.
“We know that Vitamin C consumption is linked with skeletal muscle mass. It helps defend the cells and tissues that make up the body from potentially harmful free radical substances. Unopposed these free radicals can contribute to the destruction of muscle, thus speeding up age-related decline,” he continues. “But until now, few studies have investigated the importance of Vitamin C intake for older people. We wanted to find out whether people eating more Vitamin C had more muscle mass than other people.”
The study used observational data and clearly links vitamin C to muscle mass. 13,000 adults aged 42 to 82 provided health information for the study. A seven-day food diary was used to determine the average vitamin C intake. Additionally, the amount of skeletal muscle and the blood samples’ vitamin C levels were calculated.
According to Dr. Richard Hayhoe, a professor at the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, “We studied a large sample of older Norfolk residents and found that people with the highest amounts of vitamin C in their diet or blood had the greatest estimated skeletal muscle mass, compared to those with the lowest amounts. We are very excited by our results because they suggest that dietary vitamin C is important for muscle health in older men and women and may be helpful in preventing age-related muscle loss.”.
Despite the abundance of serums, supplements, fruits, and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C, the study’s authors note that nearly 60% of the men and 50% of the women they looked at were not getting enough vitamin C to meet European Food Safety Agency recommendations.
This is why we focus on food as medicine in functional medicine, because for the majority of people, eating a citrus fruit like an orange every day or adding vegetables to their meals will meet minimum vitamin C daily doses. However, for many of us with busy lives, there may be days we all fail to have a balance of vitamins and minerals in the food choices we make. By having easily accessible direct supplementation options or highly absorbable multivitamin choices, we can ensure we lower our risk for multiple health concerns and preventable diseases.
Looking for natural options for whole-body wellness? Our licensed functional medicine doctor provides preservative-free IV therapy and vitamin injections as well as other wellness treatments.
