Cauliflower and broccoli are an excellent source of vitamin C
Researchers from the University of Ulsan, Korea, looked at data from 212 heart failure patients, with an average age of 61, of whom 45% had experienced moderate to severe heart failure. All participants were asked to complete a food diary and the details were then analysed both by a nutritionist and a computer programme, to assess how much vitamin C they’d ingested in the period covered (four days). Blood tests were also done to assess levels of high sensitivity C-Reactive protein (hsCRP), which is a marker for inflammation and a risk factor for heart disease. The patients were then followed for a year.
Those who had low vitamin C levels and levels of more than 3 mg/l of hsCRP were nearly twice as likely to die from cardiovascular disease in that time. As hsCRP is linked to a worsening of the effects of heart failure, it is logical that vitamin C, in somehow keeping levels in better check, would also help boost survival rates.
Getting enough vitamin C isn’t difficult. Adults need 40mg a day, according to the NHS, but you need to eat vitamin C foods regularly because it can’t be stored in the body. For example, 100g of broccoli provides 89mg; cauliflower 46mg; orange 45mg; green peas 40mg; yellow pepper 184mg; kiwi fruit 93mg. Nutritionists recommend you get your vitamin C from foods rather than supplements because other micronutrients within fresh foods are also important, as well as potentially making the vitamin itself more effective than when it is taken in isolation.