UCLA researcher Dr. James Enstrom, in a 10-year study of 11,348 U.S. adults, reported in the May 1992 issue of Epidemiology that after taking account of factors such as age, history of serious disease, cigarette and alcohol use, cholesterol level, and fat intake and exercise, viatmin C supplementation had an independent impact on life span.

      Three groups were compared: those getting 50 mg or more per day in food, plus an average supplement of 500 mg of vitamin C; those getting 50 mg. or more and no supplement, and those under 50 mg. with no supplement.
      Men in the highest vitamin C group had a 35% lower mortality rate and a 42% lower death rate from heart disease and stroke, representing a gain of up to five years in lifespan.
      Women getting the highest levels of C were 25% lees likely to die of heart disease or stroke, with 10% less mortality, suggesting a gain of a year.
      The UCLA study concluded that: "Based on our analyses, the inverse relation of total mortality to vitamin C intake is stronger and more consistent in this population than the relation of total mortality to serum cholesterol and dietary fat intake."
      The data also suggested that vitamin C protects against cancer, but current findings were inconclusive. Larger studies are underway to elucidate mechanisms and pathways.

      USDA researcher Robert A. Jacob reported in 8/92 that skimping on intake of vitamin C (less than 1/3 RDA for nine weeks) caused levels of glutathione, a potent antioxidant, to drop 50%. Glutathione can deactivate at least 30 carcinogens, and is very important in both immune system defense, and, perhaps, the aging process.
      Sperm were particularly damamged by the lack of vitamin C and drop in glutathione.
      An earlier, parallel study by Dr. Jacob, involved 10 men on a closely monitored diet. They received 250 mg. of vitamin C for two weeks, then were dropped to only 5 mg./day for a month, followed by another month at 10 mg./day. Sperm samples from the men during the low vitamin period found that the genetic damage was twice as high as when the men were on 250 mg. of the vitamin.
[The damaged was measured by testing for levels of oxidized guanine. The level of vitamin C was determined by measuring the ascorbic acid in seminal fluid.]

      A related study by Bruce Ames, at the U. of California, Berkeley [published Dec. 15th, 1991, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences], reported that an analysis of sperm from 24 men showed that of 15 with below-normal levels of vitamin C, eight had high levels of genetically damaged sperm (genetic damage increases the risk that natural repair mechanisms would fail, and the risk that a child conceived of that sperm will have a birth defect).
      In the study, one group of men had a diet that was meticulously controlled. A second group ate unregulated diets. The relationship between low dietary ascorbic acid and high levels of oxidation damage to DNA was documented in both the groups.
      When the daily intake of dietray ascorbic acid was decreased from 250 mg. to 5 mg., the amount of ascorbic acid in seminal fluid fell 50% while the product of oxidation of DNA, indicating damage, doubled.
      When the C level was returned to 250 milligrams/day, it took one month for semen ascorbic acids levels to return to its original level and for DNA damage to decrease.
      Ames also said that the level of C set by the U.S. Agriculture Dept. (60 milligrams) is barely enough for most people, and for smokers, etc., may be FAR below what is needed to maintain health.

[ A global review of 61 studies including 14,947 men, directed by Dr. Niels Skakkebaek of the U. of Copenhagen, and published in the 9/12/92 issue of the British Medical Journal, found that average sperm count in healthy men has dropped by half in the past 50 years, supporting speculation that environmental pollutants may damage production of sperm cells.
Dr. Sherman Silber, an infertility specialist at St. Luke's Hospital in St. Louis, cautioned against jumping to conclusions but noted that:
"If there is something in our environment having an effect that is  drastic enough to decrease sperm count by that much, we should know what this factor is."
Dr. Skakkebaek's review was the first to collect world stats, and to limit the analysis to healthy men.]

      In 1990, U. of Edinburgh/Scotland researchers compared 430 healthy men with 125 men who had angina. Regardless of other risk factors (such as cholesterol), those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin C (and E) were more than twice as likely to complain of chest pain as those with the highest levels of the vitamins.
[The fatty tissues of the angina-sufferers was also remarkably low in   linoleic acid --- a polyunsaturated fat found in foods also rich in vitamin E.]

      Dr. Christopher J. Bulpitt, of the Hammersmith Hospital in London, noted in April 1991 that:
      blood pressure is lower in individuals who consume higher levels of vitamin C
      blood pressure goes up in winter as consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables rich in C goes down
      older people are more likely to have both high blood pressure and vitamin C deficiencies
      vitamin C exhibits many well-known actions that help control blood pressure.

      A 1/92 study in the British Medical Journal reported that women taking vitamin C supplements (250-500 milligrams) for 10 years were about half as likely to have cataracts as non-vitamin takers.
      The study supported others showing that antioxidants are potent preventatives against cataracts.

      Vitamin C works as an alcohol detoxifying agent in many people.
      Dr. Marianne Chen, in a 1990 study at the U. of South Florida College of Medicine, gave 13 healthy men two or three alcoholic drinks on three separate occasions.
      In one case, the men were given 2,000 mg. of vitamin C one hour before the alcohol. Case 2, they took 2,000 mg. of C every day for two weeks before the alcohol. Case 3: no vitamin C.
      The vitamin C in both cases significantly speeded up clearance of alcohol from the blood in more than half the men.
      Conclusions: a single megadose of vitamin C may help the "sobering-up" process. It must be taken before and not after drinking. It works on only about half of the population. In a few individuals, vitamin C prolongs alcohol's circulation in the blood.

      Conditions in which dry mouth is a symptom (diabetes, high blood pressure, aging, smoking, radiation, etc.) are marked by a vitamin C deficiency, and sufferers may find relief by increasing their vitamin C intake. Lack of vitamin C may impede natural chemical production of saliva.
[Dr. Cyril O. Enwonwu, Meharry Medical College]

      An increased level of vitamin C is being associated with interference with "common cold" viral transmission, an increase in blood levels of high density lipoprotein (the "good" kind), prophylaxis against urinary tract infections in women (two 500mg. capsules daily), stimulation of antibodies and white blood cells, relief from exercise-induced asthma attacks, prevention of inflammation and bleeding of the gums, elimination of many environmental toxins from the body (in conjunction with a complete bioflavonoid profile), and the inhibition of build-up of cholesterol deposits on artery walls.