FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON February 14, 2014
Can Citrus Ward Off Your Risk of Stroke?
PHILADELPHIA -
Eating foods that contain vitamin C may reduce your risk of the most common type of hemorrhagic stroke, according to a study released today that will be presented at the 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, April 26 to May 3, 2014. Vitamin C is found in fruits and vegetables such as oranges, papaya, peppers, broccoli and strawberries. Hemorrhagic stroke is less common than ischemic stroke, but is more often deadly. The study involved 65 people who had experienced an intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke, or a blood vessel rupture inside the brain. They were compared to 65 healthy people. Participants were tested for the levels of vitamin C in their blood. Forty-one percent of cases had normal levels of vitamin C, 45 percent showed depleted levels of vitamin C and 14 percent were considered deficient of the vitamin. On average, the people who had a stroke had depleted levels of vitamin C, while those who had not had a stroke had normal levels of the vitamin. 鈥淥ur results show that vitamin C deficiency should be considered a risk factor for this severe type of stroke, as were high blood pressure, drinking alcohol and being overweight in our study,鈥 said study author St茅phane Vannier, MD, with Pontchaillou University Hospital in Rennes, France. 鈥淢ore research is needed to explore specifically how vitamin C may help to reduce stroke risk. For example, the vitamin may regulate blood pressure.鈥 Vannier adds that vitamin C appears to have other benefits like creating collagen, a protein found in bones, skin and tissues. Vitamin C deficiency has also been linked to heart disease. The study was supported by the University of Rennes, France. Learn more about stroke at .
