1500mg/day of Vitamin C reduced ultramarathon post-race cortisol and interleukins IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10

www.liebertpub.com

From the article:

In summary, runners completing the 90-km Comrades Ultramarathon experienced strong increases in concentrations of serum cortisol and plasma IL-6, IL-10, IL-1RA, and IL-8. These increases were attenuated in runners ingesting 1500 mg but not 500 mg vitamin C supplements for 1 week prior to the race and on race day.

Digest email preview

Enjoying this research? Get deeper insights like this delivered every other week.

Every other week our Premium Members receive deep dives like this alongside Rhonda's commentary and 8+ other hand-picked papers.

Vitamin C may have a special role in reducing stress-induced cortisol release:

In contrast, others have shown that vitamin C infusion enhances adrenal glucocorticoid production or has no effect on the serum cortisol response to ACTH. Our data suggest that within the context of prolonged and intensive exertion, high vitamin C intake significantly lowers serum cortisol levels.