Several months ago, we discovered some research that showed the potential risks of taking too much calcium in supplementation form. Now there’s another popular vitamin supplement commonly taken to prevent colds that might also be a health risk. Vitamin C, which is not proven to fight a cold once it starts, may also be a culprit for kidney stones.
The Vitamin C Study
The research publication in JAMA Internal Medicine analyzed data from over 23,000 Swedish men with the average age of 59. After adjusting for other factors including Body Mass Index and dietary vitamin C, men who reported that they used vitamin C supplements were at 92% greater risk of developing kidney stones than those not taking vitamin C pills.
The researchers did not know exactly how many milligrams of vitamin C was in each supplement, but from a big picture view, Vitamin C supplements typically provide 1,000 milligrams per tablet.
Concluding Remarks
This research study certainly has some merit because the physiology of the body dictates that excess vitamin C can be converted into oxalate. Oxalate makes up kidney stones and people at risk for kidney stones are advised to limit foods containing oxalate (ie. soy products, lentils, peanut butter, spinach, sweet potatoes).
But, like other nutrition research findings, correlations are not always causes. In other words, a suggestion that vitamin C elevates oxalate levels and causes kidney-stones may not be true. Also, the research presented in this study only applies to men, who tend to be at greater risk for kidney stones than women.
In short, the researchers fully accept that their study does not prove that excess vitamin C causes kidney stones. Also, I’m still an advocate of real food over supplementation because there’s a ‘universal law’ suggesting that, ‘nothing in nature takes more than it needs, but when it does, it becomes subject to that law.’
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