Researchers stop diabetes damage with high Vitamin C

Source: Townsend Letters, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism

Researchers at the Harold Hamm Oklahoma Diabetes Center have discovered that they are able to offset some of the damage caused by type 1 diabetes by adding a concentrated dose of Vitamin C to the regular insulin doses that patients receive. Diabetes can cause serious damage to blood vessels, which can lead to cardiac diseases such as hypertension, chronic heart failure, chronic renal failure, and coronary artery disease.

Scientists have concluded that insulin alone is not enough to inhibit some of the damage caused by diabetes. When Vitamin C is added, however, cell function and oxidization remain stable. Despite their results, the researchers qualified their findings to note that the Vitamin C that the patients received was administered directly into the bloodstream, and it is unlikely that patients would have experienced the same benefits with over-the-counter supplements.

Still, the research continues on the positive effects of antioxidants on diabetes with the hope that a more effective and inexpensive treatment might one day be available.