7 Ways Vitamin C Fights Heart Disease

A recent study showed that men who consume at least 300 milligrams of vitamin C, through food and supplements, slash their risk of death from heart disease by 40 percent.

Here are seven proven ways that vitamin C helps lower your risk of heart disease:

1. Vitamin C is linked to reduced levels of lipoprotein (a). High levels of lipoprotein (a) are linked to stroke.

2. Vitamin C helps to prevent high blood pressure.

3. Vitamin C helps to prevent hardening of the arteries.

4. It lowers blood cholesterol levels.

5. Vitamin C helps repair damaged artery walls, thereby preventing cholesterol from being deposited.

6. As an antioxidant, it reduces free radicals which can damage the heart and blood vessels.

7. Vitamin C is also linked, in studies, to an increase in high density lipoproteins (HDL), which is also frequently called the good cholesterol.

Vitamin C is found in most fruits and vegetables, especially pomegranates, tomatoes, citrus fruits, berries, acai, and red bell peppers.