High vitamin C, calcium may prevent diabetes
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By David Liu, Ph.D. and editing by Elizabeth Hutchinson
Tuesday June 7, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study in the January 2011 issue of Diabetes Care suggests high intake of vitamin C and calcium may help prevent the development of diabetes mellitus.
The study showed vitamin C supplements were associated with a nine percent reduced risk of diabetes, while using calcium supplements was correlated with a 15 percent reduced risk.
The association was based on dietary data from 232,007 participants who were enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-American Association of Retired Persons Diet and Health Study. Among participants, 14,130 cases of diabetes were diagnosed.
However, the authors of the study, Y. Song and colleagues from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, said in their report that using multivitamins was not associated with risk of diabetes.
Specifically, vitamin E, and other individual vitamins and minerals were not linked to diabetes risk.
Studies have suggested that vitamin C helps fight the common cold, infections, heart disease, and cancer. Late famous chemist and Nobel Prize Laureate Dr. Linus Pauling suggested that people need more vitamin C as they age.
Foods high in vitamin C include raw red pepper, oranges, kiwifruit, grapefruit juice, broccoli, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, tomato juice, cantaloupe, and cooked cabbage.
High concentrations of calcium are found in both animal-based foods such as milk, yogurt, and cheddar cheese, and in plant-based foods such as pinto beans, red beans, white beans, tofu, bok choy, kale, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, rhubarb, and spinach.
The calcium in plant-based foods is more easily absorbed than that in milk. The foods that contain high levels of absorbable calcium include rhubarb, spinach, Chinese cabbage, tofu, red beans, and pinto beans.
Photo Credit: wikpedia
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