Numerous studies have shown that vitamin C plasma levels are about 30 percent lower in people with diabetes, as compared with people who do not have diabetes.
Insulin facilitates the transport of vitamin C into the cells. People with type 2 diabetes, however, are resistance to their own insulin and not enough insulin enters their cells.
So when there is an insulin deficiency, there will be a deficiency in intracellular vitamin C – thus the relative deficiency in vitamin C in many diabetics, even if they consume an adequate amount of vitamin in their diet.
This lead to a subclinical scurvy problem, which creates an increased tendency to bleed, poor wound healing, microvascular disease, heart disease, elevation of cholesterol and a depressed immune system.
In one study, researchers found that high doses of vitamin C markedly improved blood sugar regulation in people with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In another study, it was observed that vitamin C enhanced glucose disposal by enhancing insulin sensitivity without affecting insulin secretion.
Vitamin C has also been shown to improve blood vessel dilation, which is often impaired in people with diabetes.
A large population-based study in England, published in 2000, showed that the people with the lowest long-term blood sugar levels had the highest levels of vitamin C and vice versa.
Vitamin C and diabetes