A study in the  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed large amounts of vitamin C could reduce high blood pressure.

Researchers here gathered data from 29 randomized, controlled clinical trials that looked at how vitamin C versus a placebo affected hypertension.

They found that 500 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C daily – way more than the painfully low 90 mg recommended daily intake – could lower blood pressure. For people diagnosed with full-blown hypertension, those positive results became even greater.

For instance, researchers found vitamin C could reduce blood pressure almost as well as ACE inhibitors and diuretics, without the drugs’ side effects. That’s because vitamin C works as a natural diuretic to help blood vessel walls relax and lower blood pressure.

The study concluded that if people took 500 mg of vitamin C every day, “there would be a lot fewer strokes.”

That’s enough reason for me to take it. Fortunately, vitamin C does about a zillion other beneficial things.

Regardless of those positive outcomes, researchers offered the typical fence-straddling reply about needing  “more research to understand the implications of taking [vitamin C and other supplements].” Uh, huh.

This skepticism is nothing new. Linus Pauling, who a century ago championed mega-doses of vitamin C for heart disease, cancer, infections, and many other conditions, was branded a quack by the medical establishment.

Despite criticism even today, Pauling’s reputation endures. Dr. Hilary Roberts calls him the greatest ever American scientistand he remains the only person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes for chemistry and later peace.

Pauling understood how this vitamin positively impacted numerous conditions way before the medical profession and food manufacturers hopped on the vitamin-C bandwagon.

Today we have countless studies proving vitamin C’s effectiveness and safety in larger doses. One in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition for instance, found that two grams of vitamin C was completely safe for most adults.

I know many experts who take three or more grams of vitamin C a day. More progressive practitioners often put people with chronic diseases like cancer and HIV on 10 or more grams with excellent results and no side effects.

I want you to increase your vitamin C intake, but your go-to source should not be orange juice. I see juices commonly tout they contain 100% of your day’s vitamin C. Most are also loaded with enough sugar (some more than soda) to wipe away what benefits you get from this little bit of vitamin C.

So skip the juice, but eat plenty of vitamin-C rich vegetables and fruits. The top 10 sources of dietary vitamin C are…

1. Papaya
2. Bell Peppers
3. Strawberries
4. Broccoli
5. Pineapple
6. Brussels Sprouts
7. Kiwifruit
8. Oranges
9. Cantaloupe
10. Kale

I want you to eat as many of these foods on a daily basis as possible. With the warm weather approaching, you can find abundant fresh fruits and vegetables at your local farmers market.

To get therapeutic amounts of this multitasking vitamin, however, you’ll probably need to supplement:

	You can get over 500 mg of vitamin C – the amount these studies confirmed benefit blood pressure – with just one capsule of Stellar C. Unlike those poorly absorbed drugstore brands that can upset your stomach, this powerful formula combines vitamin C with synergistic immune-boosting bioflavanoids like hesperidin, rutin, quercitin, and Ayurvedic fruits.
	If you’d rather get it in a multi, you can take Twice Daily from Designs for Health. Just two capsules a day provide 500 mg of vitamin C as well as numerous other vitamins and minerals.
	I can’t talk about vitamin C without mentioning Lipoic Synergy, also from Designs for Health. Alpha-lipoic acid does a great job recycling vitamins C and E as well as your master antioxidant glutathione, so you need less of these nutrients to do their many jobs. Lipoic Synergy also contains 200 mg of taurine. A study in the journal Amino Acids found taurine created measureable decreases in blood pressure. So you get the anti-hypertensive combo of vitamin-C recycling alpha-lipoic acid and taurine in one capsule.