The recommended daily intake for vitamin C should be doubled, scientists have claimed as current levels were informed by a “shocking” Second World War study.
The World Health Organisation advises a daily intake of 45mg of a day based on a study conducted in 1944 by The Sorby Research Institute. The NHS advises a similar dose of 40mg.
The now-defunct research facility responsible for the guidelines was created to assess the nutrition levels of British citizens at a time when food supplies were short.
Scientists at University of Washington have now revisited the research which informed the current guidelines and described the methods as “shocking”.
The current guidelines for vitamin C intake are not based on maximising overall health, but staving off scurvy, scientists say.
Modern scientists and health professionals have failed until now to comprehensively re-examine the 77-year-old research according to the university which said recommended dosages should now be upgraded.
In findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, lead author Professor Philippe Hujoel said: “The vitamin C experiment is a shocking study.
‘It would never fly now’
“They depleted people’s vitamin C levels long-term and created life-threatening emergencies. It would never fly now.
“The findings of the re-analyses of the Sorby data suggest that the WHO’s recommendation is too low to prevent weak scar strength.”
He added: “Robust parametric analyses of the trial data reveal that an average daily vitamin C intake of 95mg is required to prevent weak scar strength for 97.5 per cent of the population.
“Such a vitamin C intake is more than double the daily 45mg vitamin C intake recommended by the WHO but is consistent with the writing panels for the National Academy of Medicine and (other) countries.”
Vitamin C which is found in citrus fruits and some vegetables helps to protect cells and maintain healthy skin, bones, blood vessels and cartilage. It also aids the healing of…
Source : yahoo
