Menu Close

Vitamin C boosts muscle mass for consumers over 50: Study

Vitamin C and Food Concept Photo: Getty Images

*Over 50million people aged above 50 lose up to 1 percent skeletal muscle mass yearly ─Researchers

*Experts say the supplement could improve quality of life

Emmanuel Akosile | ConsumerConnect

Researchers from the University of East Anglia, in a fresh study explored how Vitamin C can be an effective additive for consumers to add into their routines to protect their muscle mass.

New studies have highlighted the ways the body naturally weakens over time, while exercise is a key component, experts say that vitamin C can also add noticeable improvements, according to agency report.

Researcher Ailsa Welch said: “People over 50 lose up to one percent of their skeletal muscle mass each year, and this loss is thought to affect more than 50 million people worldwide.”

“It’s a big problem, because it can lead to frailty and other poor outcomes such as sarcopenia, physical disability, type-2 diabetes, reduced quality of life, and death.”

As regards staying strong into older age, and seeing what effect Vitamin C can have on consumers’ muscle mass, the researchers analysed over 13,000 responses to the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Norfolk Study.

The participants, for a week, kept a detailed log of their diet while the researchers administered blood tests that measured the exact levels of Vitamin C in their blood.

Compared to participants with the lowest levels of Vitamin C, the researchers learned that higher levels of vitamin C were associated with improved muscle mass. According to Welch, the vitamin plays a key role in protecting the body against age-related decline.

Welch stated: “We know that Vitamin C consumption is linked with skeletal muscle mass.

“It helps defend the cells and tissues that make up the body from potentially harmful free radical substances.

“Unopposed, these free radicals can contribute to the destruction of muscle, thus speeding up age-related decline.”

According to experts, these findings are important for consumers because incorporating more Vitamin C can be a rather easy fix that could help protect against disease and improve overall quality of life.

The researchers also found that while many of the participants were on the lower end of Vitamin C consumption, huge changes were not necessary for them to reap big benefits.

Dr. Richard Hayhoe, one of the researchers, said: “We are very excited by our findings as they suggest that dietary vitamin C is important for muscle health in older men and women and may be useful for preventing age-related muscle loss.

“We’re not talking about needing mega-doses. Eating a citrus fruit, such as an orange, each day and having a vegetable side to a meal will be sufficient for most people.”

Kindly Share This Story

Kindly share this story