Body Lacking Vitamin C Can't Turn Fat into Fuel

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A human body lacking enough vitamin C can't depend on fat for fuel, thus increasing a person's likelihood of being overweight and chronically tired, nutrition researchers say.

Food experts at Arizona State University reported at a nutrition conference April 3 that vitamin C in the blood is directly linked to fat "oxidation," which is the body's ability to use fat as a fuel source both during exercise and rest.

"It is important to understand the impact of vitamin C deficiency, because it affects about 15 percent of adults in the United States, up from only 3-5 percent 25 years ago," said Dr. Carol Johnston, a university registered dietitian and nutrition professor who led the research. She blamed the deficiencies partly on food manufacturers' processing methods that destroy vitamin C with light, oxygen and heat.

The four-week study included 20 obese men and women who took either 500 daily milligrams of vitamin C a day or took fake pills for comparison's sake. All were given low-fat weight-loss plans, which contained 67 percent of the 40-milligram recommended daily allowance for vitamin C.

At the study's start, people with the lowest amount of vitamin C in their blood had the highest body fat mass and failed to burn fat for energy when compared to the less obese participants. But vitamin C in the blood jumped by 30 percent for people who took vitamin C supplements and fell 27 percent in the comparison group where members didn't take the nutrient, according to the results.

The human body does not manufacture or store vitamin C, so people must ensure their eating plans include plenty of vitamin C products, according to the National Institutes of Health. All fruits and vegetables contain some amount of vitamin C, but the ones that pack the punch include green peppers, citrus fruits and juices, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, turnip greens and other leafy greens, sweet and white potatoes, cantaloupe, papaya, mango, watermelon, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, winter squash, red peppers, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and pineapples.

Orange juice possesses one of the highest concentrations of vitamin C, but the amounts in popular ready-to-drink brands can drop by 45 milligrams to zero within four weeks.