Big doses of vitamin C lower blood pressure

Experts believe that large amounts of vitamin C, primarily present in fruits and vegetables, could lower blood pressure or hypertension. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reviewed clinical trials that reported systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure values and also compared vitamin C intake to a placebo. They found that intake of 500 mg of vitamin C daily resulted blood pressure to reduce by 3.84 mm of mercury, 5 mm for hypertensive patients and even as much as 10 mm for those taking ACE inhibitors or diuretics. According to Dr. Edgar R. Miller III, associate professor in the division of general internal medicine, though their review does not show that vitamin C directly prevents or reduce occurrence of cardiovascular disease, vitamin C may act as a diuretic, causing the kidneys to remove more sodium and water from the body, thus, relaxing the blood vessel walls and lowering blood pressure.