Can vitamin C supplement replace morning walk?

If you are too lazy to wake up for your morning walk, results of a new study may cheer you up.

Researchers have found that taking Vitamin C supplements daily can have similar cardiovascular benefits as regular exercise in overweight and obese adults.

The blood vessels of overweight and obese adults have elevated activity of the small vessel-constricting protein called endothelin (ET)-1.

Because of the high ET-1 activity, these vessels are more prone to constricting, becoming less responsive to blood flow demand and increasing risk of developing vascular disease.

Exercise has been shown to reduce ET-1 activity but incorporating an exercise regimen into a daily routine can be challenging.

This study, conducted at University of Colorado, Boulder in the US, examined whether vitamin C supplements, which have been reported to improve vessel function, can also lower ET-1 activity.

The researchers found that daily supplementation of Vitamin C (500 mg/day) reduced ET-1-related vessel constriction as much as walking for exercise did.

Vitamin C supplementation represents an effective lifestyle strategy for reducing ET-1-mediated vessel constriction in overweight and obese adults, the researchers wrote.

The findings were presented at the 14th International Conference on Endothelin: Physiology, Pathophysiology and Therapeutics in Savannah, Georgia, US.