Obese and overweight individuals who consume vitamin C daily on high doses may experience the benefits of daily exercise without having to do the activity, a new study has found.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder, led by Caitlin Dow, Ph.D.
It was aimed at finding out if supplemental vitamin C can also reduce the activity of a protein called endothelin-1.
Overweight and obese individuals appear to have increased endothelin-1 activity, which makes small blood vessels prone to constriction and thereby putting a person at high risk for vascular disorders.
The study involved a trial of recruited adults who led sedentary lifestyles and were either obese or overweight.
These people were divided into two groups: 20 individuals assigned to take 500 milligrams of vitamin C every day and 15 assigned to do brisk walking five to seven times a week for three months.
The trial found that those who took the supplements saw an improvement in the blood vessel tone, just like those who were on the exercise group.
The findings were presented at the annual American Psychological Society conference held in Atlanta last week. The study has not been peer-reviewed yet so it is still in its preliminary stages, as noted in a report by The Seattle Times.
Dow said that the results were important for those who find exercising difficult due to physical limitations. Furthermore, she added that vitamin C should not be treated as an "exercise pill" because when comparing the supplement to exercise, getting physically active still offers the most benefits.
Those who are able to go out and do some walking or even visit the gym and work with the exercise equipment are encouraged to do so and Dow considers this as a much healthier method.
"If we can improve different measures of risk for disease without changing weight, it takes a little bit of the pressure off some people," Dow said, according to The Seattle Times.
The benefits of vitamin C are not fresh news but Dow added that "it's important to know what other lifestyle changes we can offer people who can't exercise."
