In doing a new page for my web site this weekend, on vitamin C, I discovered some research that has identified a specific gene which causes people with diabetes who take a lot of vitamin C to be at higher risk of death from heart attack.

The research concluded that people with diabetes shouldn't take over 250mg of vitamin C as supplements.

Presumably if you knew you didn't have the gene you could take a lot more...

Just thought I'd pass that on.

Here is more information:

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/mod...ticle&sid=2255

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...67/ai_n8700713

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ate/diabetes/202346.html

And this: Vit C protective of stroke:
http://www.nutrition.org/media/publi...s/ajcnsum1.pdf
(non-diabetic patients)

Articles BEFORE 2004 typically recommend vitamin C supplements for diabetics.
Those after reflect this newer data.

There is also a connection between Vit C intake and stomach cancer. I am still looking for that study which I failed to save.

I am sure we haven't heard the last of it yet. The studies on diabetes are
neverending.

What I do find in the studies over the years is that taking high dose of one antioxidant only, typically shows negative outcomes. It is thought that we need a balance of A, C, E, and that they work as a team to hand off the free radicals our body generates. Artificially elevating only one antioxidant does not work well.

The study that showed a danger in taking above 250 mg of vitamin C for people with diabetes, in case someone has the specific gene, did not say not to take vitamin C, but rather that taking more than 250 mg a day could lead to a risk, be a danger.

In terms of stomach cancer there is some evidence that vitamin C reduces the risk because it tends to kill off h.pyloi and the like.