Does vitamin C increase the risk of cardiovascular disease?
One recent unpublished study found an association (not a cause and effect) between supplemental vitamin C and increased thickness of the carotid artery, a sign of cardiovascular disease. Balz Frie, Ph.D., director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, Corvallis, points out that more than 50 other studies clearly show vitamin C helps lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Q: Does too much vitamin C cause diarrhea? A: Robert Cathcart III, M.D., of Los Altos, Calif., recommends using the “bowel-tolerance” method to determine your optimal vitamin C intake. Cathcart believes that your optimal intake is just under the diarrhea-causing amount of vitamin C. Your tolerance for vitamin C will increase when you’re sick. It’s best to spread out your daily dose into two to four doses, which increases absorption and reduces the chance of diarrhea.
