Taking a vitamin C tablet twice a day could help people with type 2 diabetes

According to a new study, taking a vitamin C tablet twice a day could help more than one million Australians with type 2 diabetes reduce their blood sugar.

Researchers at Melbourne's Deakin University found that taking two 500-mg doses after meals could lower blood sugar levels and reduce the blood sugar peak of people with the disease.

The results published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism revealed that participants had a 36% drop in blood glucose elevation after meals.

According to a new study, storing a vitamin C tablet twice a day could help more than one million Australians with type 2 diabetes to reduce their blood sugar.

"We found that participants had a significant 36% drop in blood glucose after meals," said principal investigator and badociate professor Glenn Wadley on Monday.

"It also meant that they spent nearly three hours a day living in a state of high blood sugar.

"The antioxidant properties of vitamin C can help combat the high levels of free radicals that are found in people with diabetes."

"It is encouraging to see that this benefits a number of common comorbidities of the disease, such as high blood pressure."

Study participants with hypertension also saw their blood pressure drop while taking vitamin C tablets, he added.

The researchers said the vitamin could be an additional inexpensive and effective treatment for diabetes.

More than 1.2 million Australians have been diagnosed with the disease.

Type two is a health problem that can be triggered by being overweight.

The researchers said the vitamin could be an additional inexpensive and effective treatment for diabetes medication (image in stock). Type two is a health problem that can be triggered by being overweight