Even a small increase in your daily vitamin C intake can significantly reduce the chances of early death from all causes.
In a prospective population (EPIC Norfolk) study in the UK, researchers collected data on 19,496 men and women, 45-79 years of age, and divided them into five gender specific groups based on their blood concentrations of vitamin C.
The subjects were followed for about four years and causes of death documented. For both men and women with the highest blood levels of vitamin C, the risk of
mortality due to all causes, cardiovascular and ischaemic heart disease was about 25 per cent lower than in those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin C. The study also found that high vitamin C led to lower rates of death from cancer in men, though not in women.
Overall, they found a 20 per cent reduction in all cause mortality risk associated with each increase in blood vitamin C concentrations of 20 mmol/L-equivalent to an increased daily intake of fruits and vegetables of about 50 g (Lancet, 2001; 357: 657-63).