Preserving Muscle - Vitamin C may maintain mature muscle mass

Men and women do not get enough

“Vitamin C helps defend body cells and tissues from potentially harmful free radical substances which, unopposed, can contribute to destruction of muscle, speeding up age-related decline,” doctors said. Here, doctors calculated skeletal muscle mass and vitamin C levels in 13,000 people, aged 42 to 82. Half the women, and 60 percent of the men were not consuming enough vitamin C.

In those with sufficient levels of vitamin C, fat-free mass as a percentage of total body mass was 1.6 percent higher in men and 3.4 percent higher in women, compared to those insufficient in vitamin C. Also, BMI fat-free mass scores were 2.0 percent higher in men and 3.9 percent higher in women, comparing those sufficient in vitamin C to those who were insufficient. “To our knowledge, this is the first study assessing the relation of dietary and circulating vitamin C with loss of skeletal muscle mass,” doctors said.

Reference: Journal of Nutrition; 2020, Vol. 150, No. 10, 2789-98