One concern related to aging we all should have is how to reduce the loss of muscle strength and mass. By doing so, we also slow the aging process and keep our bodies fit and functioning. However, nature works against us. Most people have the most muscle mass they’ll ever have during the third decade of life, assuming they don’t strength train to increase or preserve it.
The solution? Strength training is the best way to slow muscle loss and keep your muscles strong too. But you already knew that! Studies show that people in their 70s who strength train can have a muscle composition similar to someone decades younger who doesn’t strength train. That’s the power of working your muscles against resistance.
To gain or preserve muscle, you must work your muscles, but diet matters too. It’s clear that you have to get enough protein and calories to increase muscle size, but what about vitamin C? Could adding more of this antioxidant vitamin to your diet help preserve muscle mass too?
Can Vitamin C Slow Muscle Loss
Researchers at UEA’s Norwich Medical School believe vitamin C may play a role in slowing muscle loss. They looked at data on 13,000 middle-aged and older people as part of a larger study called the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Norfolk Study, also known as EPIC. The individuals recorded their vitamin C intake by keeping a food diary, and researchers measured the amount of vitamin C in their bloodstream. They also used bioelectrical impedance analysis to measure their percentage of fat-free mass, so they knew how much muscle they had on their frame.
The results? Individuals who consumed more vitamin C and had a higher level of vitamin C in their bloodstream, had, on average, greater fat-free mass and carried more skeletal muscle mass on their frame relative to those with low levels of vitamin C in their blood.
What Did the Scientists Conclude?
Although this study only shows a correlation between consuming more vitamin C and more muscle mass, there are reasons vitamin C may be beneficial for maintaining muscle mass. Loss of muscle mass due to aging and inactivity is called sarcopenia. One contributor to sarcopenia is inflammation and oxidative stress. As cells age, including muscle cells, they enter a state called cellular senescence and older muscle have more cells in this state of cellular senescence. When cells enter this state of “old age,” they produce more inflammatory cytokines that spur low-grade inflammation, oxidative stress, and tissue damage. It’s easy to see how this could speed up muscle aging.
How does this relate to vitamin C? Vitamin C is an antioxidant vitamin that helps counter oxidative stress. In fact, vitamin C is one of the body’s most important antioxidant players since it also helps to recycle another antioxidant vitamin, Vitamin E. Plus, vitamin C is critical for synthesizing collagen, a protein musculoskeletal tissue, including tendons, ligaments, and bones. Some studies show that consuming more vitamin C may aid in soft tissue healing after sports-related injuries. Other research finds it may accelerate the healing of bone fractures, although studies are conflicting.
Sources of Vitamin C
You need enough vitamin C in your diet. If you don’t eat plant-based foods, you’ll fall short in your body’s vitamin C requirements. Meat only contains small quantities of vitamin C, the best sources being eggs, liver, and fish roe. However, cooking these foods destroys much of their vitamin C.
In contrast, most fruits and vegetables contain substantial amounts of C. Although we think of citrus fruit, like oranges, being the best source, kiwifruit, strawberries, bell peppers, papaya, broccoli, and kale contain even more. Vitamin C is very sensitive to heat and light, so you’ll get the most vitamin C from these foods if you don’t let them sit around before eating them. It’s best to eat these foods raw to maximize vitamin C, since cooking destroys vitamin C.
You might be tempted to take a vitamin C supplement to boost your vitamin C status, but there are disadvantages to doing so. Vitamin C in supplement form can cause tummy upset, including nausea and diarrhea. There’s also some evidence that taking large doses of vitamin C increases the risk of kidney stones in people who have a history of calcium oxalate kidney stones. Based on the results of the above study, you don’t need large quantities of vitamin C to support muscle health.
Another benefit of getting adequate vitamin C is you need it for a healthy immune system. Although research doesn’t show that taking vitamin C lowers the risk of the common cold, several studies show it may shorten the duration of the common cold by a day or so.
The Bottom Line
Getting enough vitamin C may help slow the loss of muscle due to aging. As the researchers in the study point out, you don’t need a megadose supplement to get benefits. Adding more vitamin C-rich foods to your diet should be enough to boost your vitamin C intake without swallowing a pill. Studies show skeletal muscle readily takes up vitamin C and stores about two-thirds of the vitamin C in the human body. When you get vitamin C through diet you also get the benefits of the other components in fruits and vegetables, like fiber and antioxidants. You won’t get that by swallowing a pill! So, enjoy a variety of vitamin C-rich foods.
References:
- com. “How vitamin C could help over 50s retain muscle mass”
- Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2012 Jan;15(1):12-22. doi: 10.1097/MCO.0b013e32834dd297.
- Lucy N Lewis, Richard P G Hayhoe, Angela A Mulligan, Robert N Luben, Kay-Tee Khaw, Ailsa A Welch. Lower Dietary and Circulating Vitamin C in Middle- and Older-Aged Men and Women Are Associated with Lower Estimated Skeletal Muscle Mass. The Journal of Nutrition, 2020; DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxaa221.
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