Vitamin C, Osteoporosis

Dietary vitamin C may contribute to dense bones in postmenopausal women according to a report presented at a recent medical meeting. Susan Hall, a medical student at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, studied nearly 800 menopausal women and observed that those whose diets contained high levels of vitamin C had thicker bones. For each additional 100 mg of vitamin C bone density increased 2 to 2.5 percent. A three percent increase in bone density produces a 50 percent reduction in the risk of hip fracture.

Women who consumed foods high in both calcium and vitamin C had the thickest bones. Because vitamin C is excreted rather rapidly by the body the dietary intake is preferred to once daily supplementation.
(Obstetrics and Gynecology News 31(8)13, April 15, 1996)
Copyright 1996 Phylis A Austin