Low Vitamin C Levels Tied To Leg Disease
Belgian researchers
say low levels of vitamin C in the blood are tied to a painful leg disease
known to increase the risk of death from heart attack and stroke.
In peripheral
artery disease, fatty deposits build up along artery walls and impair blood
circulation in the legs and feet.
Common symptoms
include leg cramps or fatigue that goes away when standing still. The disease
is a form of artery hardening, or atherosclerosis, which is tied to heart
disease.
The investigators
found concentrations of vitamin C were almost twice as low among patients
with the leg ailment when compared to healthy people or patients with heart
conditions. "From our data, we cannot conclude that peripheral artery disease
or atherosclerosis could be prevented by taking more vitamin C," cautions
researcher Michel Langlois, who reported his team's results in the journal
Circulation.
The physicians
are setting up another study to see what effect, if any, that vitamin C
supplements have on patients with the leg disease.
The American
Heart Association notes that supplements are no substitute for a balanced
diet, and recommends that healthy individuals get their vitamin C from
fruits and vegetables.
--
Copyright 2001 by
United Press International.
All rights reserved.
--
|
