Vitamin C Can Reduce C-Reactive Protein - A Marker of Inflammation & Chronic Disease

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Vitamin C Can Reduce C-Reactive Protein - A Marker of Inflammation & Chronic

Disease [Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome News] ImmuneSupport.com

04-14-2004

Vitamin C can reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation

and chronic disease

By: News-Medical

Vitamin C supplements can reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of

inflammation and chronic disease risk in humans, according to a new study

led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

Participants who took about 500 milligrams of vitamin C supplements per day

saw a 24 percent drop in plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels after two

months. The study, published in the April issue of the Journal of the

American College of Nutrition, is the first time vitamin C has been shown to

decrease levels of CRP, a biomarker that has garnered increasing attention

among health researchers in recent years.

" C-reactive protein is a marker of inflammation, and there is a growing body

of evidence that chronic inflammation is linked to an increased risk of

heart disease, diabetes and even Alzheimer's disease, " said Gladys Block, UC

Berkeley professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition and lead

author of the study. " If our finding of vitamin C's ability to lower CRP is

confirmed through other trials, vitamin C could become an important public

health intervention. "

Inflammation occurs as part of the body's defense against infection or

injury. The body triggers the production of inflammatory cytokines, such as

interleukin-6, that then set off the production of CRP by the liver.

" CRP levels can go up 100-fold within a short period of time as a reaction

to an infection, but they then drop back down rapidly after the acute

infection passes, " said Jensen, a research scientist in Block's

lab and co-author of the paper.

" It's not clear how vitamin C was able to lower CRP levels for people in

this study, " said Jensen. " One possibility is that vitamin C may be

suppressing the production of cytokines, but that needs to be investigated

in future studies. "

The researchers say that long-term adverse health effects occur when

inflammation persists at low levels. This chronic inflammation, with

persistent low levels of CRP, has been found among smokers and Type 2

diabetics, as well as among overweight or obese persons. They say that

scientists have only recently begun to understand such chronic inflammation

as an important factor in disease.

" Several large studies have suggested that CRP may be a better predictor of

heart disease than cholesterol levels, although this has been questioned, "

said n Dietrich, a UC Berkeley researcher in nutritional epidemiology

and another co-author of the study. " Still, CRP is widely recognized as an

important biomarker for inflammation. Elevated CRP concentrations have been

found in obese people, indicating that obesity is associated with chronic

inflammation. The association may help explain why overweight people are at

increased risk for chronic disease development such as diabetes, heart

disease or certain types of cancer. "

For this study, researchers tested 160 healthy adults from Berkeley and

Oakland, Calif., who either smoked or were exposed to second-hand smoke. The

researchers adjusted for body mass index and baseline CRP concentrations.

People who had high levels of CRP to start with, likely due to existing

illness, were excluded from the study.

Participants were randomly assigned to receive a daily dose of a placebo, a

vitamin C supplement of about 500 milligrams, or a mixture of antioxidants

made up of vitamin C, vitamin E and alpha-lipoic acid. Neither the

researchers nor the participants knew which group a subject belonged to in

the double-blind study.

Plasma CRP levels were measured from blood samples before and after the

two-month trial. Levels of CRP decreased significantly, by 24 percent, among

participants who had taken the vitamin C pills when compared to those in the

placebo group. For those taking the antioxidant mixture, levels of CRP

decreased 4.7 percent compared to the placebo group, but the change was not

statistically significant. The researchers noted that in other studies,

higher doses of vitamin E produced lower CRP levels among Type 2 diabetics

and healthy individuals.

" We were surprised to find no statistical change in CRP levels among people

taking the antioxidant mixture, while those taking the vitamin C supplement

saw a significant 24 percent drop, " said Block. " However, the only other

study to administer vitamin C and vitamin E together also did not show an

effect on CRP. "

" It's possible that there is some interaction among the antioxidants that

rendered the mixture less effective in reducing CRP levels, but that's not

clear at this time, " said Block. " This underscores the need to conduct

further tests to confirm our findings. "

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Block a grant to conduct

another randomized trial of vitamin C and CRP levels. Block will begin

recruiting participants for that trial in mid-May.

In the meantime, the researchers recommend that people eat plenty of fruits

and vegetables to ensure they get a variety of nutrients in their diet. " I

believe all adults should take a multivitamin every day, " said Block. " As

for vitamin C, a 500-milligram daily dose is safe, and I believe it is a

very important nutrient. However, research to confirm these findings is

needed before we can say it definitely reduces inflammation and reduces

chronic disease risk. "

Other co-authors of the study are Norkus at Our Lady of Mercy Medical

Center in New York; Mark Hudes at UC Berkeley's Department of Nutritional

Sciences and Toxicology; and Lester Packer at the University of Southern

California School of Pharmacy.

This research was supported by the University of California Tobacco-Related

Disease Research Program and by the National Cancer Institute.

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