According to a recent study, vitamin C prevents intra-cerebral brain hemorrhage and stroke.  French researchers have discovered that vitamin C deficiency can possibly lead to brain hemorrhage.

For the study, a team of French researchers looked at 130 people. Of the total, half were survivors of an intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke, an occurrence when a weakened blood vessel in the brain ruptures and causes internal bleeding. Vitamin C levels of the study participants were checked and recorded. Results show a direct link between the common type of stroke and vitamin C deficiency.

Hemorrhagic strokes make up only 15 percent of all strokes, but they usually are deadlier than ischemic strokes, which occur when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked.

“Our results show that vitamin C deficiency should be considered a risk factor for this severe type of stroke, as were high blood pressure, drinking alcohol and being overweight in our study,” study author Stéphane Vannier, MD, with Pontchaillou University Hospital in Rennes, France, said in a statement. “More research is needed to explore specifically how vitamin C may help to reduce stroke risk. For example, the vitamin may regulate blood pressure.”

This link is probably related to vitamin C’s role in lowering blood pressure and maintaining the health of blood vessels, Vannier said. Despite uncovering an association between vitamin C levels and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke, however, the study did not show a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

According to National Institute of Health, anemia is another ailment caused by the deficiency of vitamin C.  Anemia is related to the body’s ability to combat infection, joint pain, nosebleeds, and healing wounds.

It is best to get vitamin C through diet, Vannier said. “We actually don’t recommend using vitamin C supplementation when there is no deficiency,” he said.  Vegetables such as broccoli, peppers, squash, leafy green, beans, sprouts, potatoes, tomatoes, and fruits like oranges, strawberries, mango, pineapple, kiwi, cantaloupe, berries, watermelon, and papaya are rich in vitamin C.