Vitamin C lowers levels of inflammation biomarker considered predictor of hea...(percent lower levels of CRP with vitamin...)

The UC Berkeley study also found a strong link between obesity and elevated levels of CRP. The researchers found that while 25 percent of normal-weight people had elevated levels of CRP, those levels were found in 50 percent of overweight and 75 percent of obese participants.

"The low-grade inflammation that characterizes obesity is believed to contribute to a number of disorders, including atherosclerosis and insulin resistance," said Nina Holland, adjunct professor at UC Berkeley's Division of Environmental Health Sciences and co-investigator on the study. Holland's biorepository at UC Berkeley processed and stored the thousands of blood samples involved in this study.

Notably, the American Heart Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that clinicians measure CRP levels in patients who have a moderately elevated risk of cardiovascular problems, as determined by other established risk factors such as high cholesterol levels and smoking.

"Major studies have found that the level of CRP in the body predicts future risk of cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction, stroke and peripheral artery disease, as well as diabetes," said Block. "Some believe CRP to be as important a predictor of future heart problems as high levels of LDL and low levels of HDL cholesterol."

The UC Berkeley-led study looked at the separate effects of two antioxidants: vitamin C and vitamin E. The researchers randomly divided 396 healthy, non-smoking adults from the San Francisco Bay Area into groups taking daily doses of either 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C, 800 international units of vitamin E or a placebo. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin C is 90 milligrams per day for men and 75 milligrams per day for women. The researchers noted that the suggested upper limit for vitamin C is 2,000 milligrams per day, or twice
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