The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7275 p671
15 November 2003

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Neurology abstract (more)

Vitamin C reduces stroke risk

Eating a diet rich in vitamin C appears to decrease a person's risk of stroke, particularly if they smoke, say researchers (Neurology 2003;61:1273). They compared the diets of 5,197 people who were followed up for an average of 6.4 years. The researchers found that those whose diet contained the lowest levels of vitamin C were 30 per cent more likely to have a stroke than those with the highest levels. Smokers whose diets were rich in vitamin C rich were 70 per cent less likely to have a stroke than smokers with low levels of vitamin C in their diet. Vitamin E was also protective for smokers.