The well-known and valued vitamin C may increase the risk of kidney stones in men. These disturbing conclusions were reached by scientists from the Karolinska Institute (medical university) in Stockholm.
For 11 years, Swedish scientists studied the community of 23 in Västmanland Örebro – an area where there was no tendency to develop urolithiasis. During the experiment, some of the respondents did not take any supplements, and others took only vitamin C. After the completion of the research, it turned out that those who benefited from supplementation were twice as likely to develop the disease.
Interestingly, this regularity was valid only for men (in 11 years of research, 436 men who took ascorbic acid experienced an attack of nephrolithiasis). So far, scientists cannot explain this phenomenon. – For the results to be credible, they must be confirmed by other studies – emphasizes Prof. Agneta Akesson. – However, given the fact that there is no evidence to support the health-promoting effects of high doses of vitamin C, I would advise you to refrain from taking it, especially by people who have a tendency to form kidney stones, she added.
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