Vitamin C Against Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is classified as a systemic disease that causes progressive loss of bone mass, which can lead to an increased risk of fractures. What we could not imagine is that vitamin C could benefit us so much in terms of preventing this disease.

In Spain, about three million people suffer from it, the vast majority, women who are or have gone through menopause. Although it also affects men, it is estimated that at least 30 out of 100 women suffer from it.

The intake of foods such as dairy products and all those elements that provide good amounts of calcium has always been recommended, in addition to carrying out physical exercise in moderation to prevent this disease from occurring.

Fortunately, and according to the new discoveries on this subject, vitamin C can be a great help to fight against the appearance of osteoporosis, since it provides effective protection.

The study conducted on vitamin C

Some researchers are very interested in discovering treatments that can prevent osteoporosis, a degenerative disease that affects millions of people around the world.

This is suggested by this research published in 2015 and carried out by a team from the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Medical Center, which has led to other more specific studies on the subject.

One of them is this study conducted by National Chung Hsing University (Taiwan) in rodents, which suggests that those who consumed large amounts of vitamin C were able to increase the ability to form new bone tissue much more easily.

Both the excess and the deficiency of vitamin C in the body can lead to many problems. In fact, it was formerly related to the appearance of diseases as serious as scurvy. However, today, it is possible to include it in the diet and enjoy its benefits, in a very simple way.

How does the study was realized? What was the procedure?

This study was carried out with some groups of female mice, which were divided into two subgroups; all had their ovaries removed. It should be noted that this medical procedure is usually performed in many women, but due to an early menopause related to certain pathologies.

The two groups of mice were studied as follows:

Group A

This group was given large amounts of vitamin C for approximately eight weeks, prior to measuring the bone density of these animals.

With the passage of the stipulated weeks, it was found that the rodents that had had their ovaries removed and vitamin C administered, had not lost their bone density.

B Group

Like group A, their ovaries were removed, but they were not given this particular vitamin. In the same way, they had the same bone density as the control rats that did not undergo the procedure.

Results

Thanks to this research, it has been found that vitamin C has a great capacity to prevent bone loss and, therefore, osteoporosis.

As a final recommendation, it is ideal to include in the daily meal plans those foods that provide a good amount of vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, since in addition to helping us prevent this disease, they will contribute to the health of the entire organism.