The need of vitamin C for diabetes patients has been illustrated in clinical studies showing reduced levels in diabetes patients. This occurs when there is insulin deficiency. Insulin transports vitamin C into cells, decreasing capillary permeability and improving healing of wounds however, in diabetics intracellular vitamin C is depleted leading to blood vessel damage. Researchers at the Harold Hamm Oklahoma Diabetes Center studied vitamin C for diabetes patients with insulin dependence, using it in combination with insulin. Neither insulin nor vitamin C alone produced the desired result of reduced blood vessel damage that researchers found when using combination therapy.
Vitamin C for Diabetes – Combination Insulin Therapy
In a 2009 study, the University of Warwick led by Dr. Antonio Ceriello investigated way to stop damage to blood vessels, called endothelial dysfunction, in type 2 diabetes. The same type of damage is common in most forms of cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, chronic heart failure, peripheral artery disease, diabetes, and chronic renal failure. The researches hoped that by stopping blood vessel damage, patients might avoid greater risks in the future. While insulin is able to reduce blood glucose, researchers found that cells have a “memory” and continue to damage the vessels even after blood glucose is at normal levels. The addition of the antioxidant vitamin C was able to erase this “memory”. Despite the positive results of their study, the researchers warned against indiscriminately taking supplements of vitamin C for diabetes. Vitamin C was administered directly into the blood at very high doses, making it unlikely that people would attain the same results. Dr. Ceriello also tested the blood pressure-lowering drug Telmisarten in neutralizing free radicals, finding that it may be a safer alternative to vitamin C. Telmisarten stimulates the natural removal of free radicals by the body’s own cells in long-term treatment. There have also been studies showing that vitamin C supplements may cause dangerous reactions in certain diabetics.
Vitamin C for Diabetes Prevention
In the long-term European Prospective Investigation of Cancer – Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk) focused on the effects of nutrition and lifestyle on chronic diseases, researchers collected blood samples from 21,831 men and women from the Norfolk area between the ages of 40-75 who did not have diabetes. The group was followed for 12 years, at the end of the study finding that people with high vitamin C levels were 62% less likely to develop diabetes and those consuming the most fruits were 30% less likely to develop the disease. Researchers once again cautioned against the use of supplements, noting that 90% of the vitamin C detected in the study came from dietary sources.
