Can vitamin C prevent cardiovascular disease?


In a recent issue of his newsletter, Dr. Mercola talked about a theory of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its treatment propounded by Linus Pauling and Matthias Rath(1). And, yes, vitamin C (ascorbate) plays a leading role in their solution, as you might expect from Pauling. Their theory and treatment claims are bold and sweeping:

"Ascorbate deficiency is the precondition and common denominator of human CVD. Ascorbate deficiency is the result of the inability of man to synthesize ascorbate endogenously in combination with insufficient dietary intake. The invariable morphological consequences of chronic ascorbate deficiency in the vascular wall are the loosening of the connective tissue and the loss of the endothelial barrier function.
Thus human CVD is a form of pre-scurvy."(1)

The authors made it clear though that their claim to a cure for CVD was as yet only an unproven theory:

"Clinical confirmation of this theory should largely abolish CVD as a cause for mortality in this generation and future generations of mankind."(1)

The loosening of the connective tissue and the loss of the endothelial barrier function in the vascular wall referred to by the authors are the result of the impairment of collagen synthesis. For collagen to fulfill its structural role, the protein has to self-associate to form a triple-helical structure. This self-association can occur only if specific proline residues on the collagen protein are oxidized to hydroxyprolines.(2)

The active site of the enzyme catalyzing the conversion to hydroxyproline contains iron, which must be kept in the reduced (divalent, ferrous) state. It is the role of the antioxidant ascorbate to reverse any iron oxidation that may occur. Unchecked oxidation deactivates the enzyme, i.e. a lack of ascorbate leads to defective collagen synthesis.(2)

So what has all this got to do with cardiovascular disease?

The structural integrity of the arteries depends on the collagen fibers wrapped around them. Impaired collagen synthesis therefore leads to damaged blood vessels and to potentially fatal hemorrhages. The body deals with this threat by depositing lipoproteins at the sites of lesions in the blood vessel walls.

While these lipoprotein deposits are effective at plugging the leaks, they can obviously create problems of their own. If this defense mechanism overshoots its target, cardiovascular disease results. Excessive plaque formation narrows and hardens the arteries (atherosclerosis). Pieces of plaque may break loose and block the narrowed coronary and cerebral arteries, leading to heart attacks and strokes.

In other words, the solution (lipoprotein deposits) can be as problematic as the problem it is meant to solve (arterial structural impairment). The essence of Pauling and Rath's proposed solution is to prevent the need for arterial repairs by supplying the body with enough ascorbate to ensure proper collagen synthesis.

The theory sounds perfectly convincing, IF defective collagen synthesis due to ascorbate deficiency is the sole, or at least the major, cause of arterial lesions.

But is it?

Sources
  1. A Unified Theory of Human Cardiovascular Disease Leading the Way to the Abolition of This Disease as a Cause for Human Mortality.
    Matthias Rath M.D. and Linus Pauling Ph.D
    J. Ortho Med., 1992; 7:5-15
  2. Nutritional Biochemistry, 2nd Edition, Tom Brody, Academic Press 1999.
Posted by Helmut Beierbeck at 10/1/2007 9:07 PM
Categories: cardiovascular disease
 

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