1. Introduction
There is growing evidence that increased consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with subjective feelings of vitality, which constitutes feelings of less fatigue, improved mood, and a “zest for life” [
1,
2,
3], in conjunction with decreased levels of depression, anxiety, and stress [
2,
4,
5]. Fruit and vegetables are rich in numerous essential nutrients and are the main source of vitamin C for humans and other species that cannot synthesize this compound in the liver [
6,
7]. Vitamin C availability determines intracellular levels throughout the body and saturation in most organs is achieved when plasma concentrations are >60 µmol/L [
8,
9,
10]. Tissue vitamin C content is variable and some organs such as the brain and adrenals preferentially accumulate high concentrations of the vitamin even when plasma levels are below saturation [
10,
11]. High intracellular concentrations inside these organs coincide with a demand for ascorbate as a cofactor to support Cu- and Fe-containing enzymes, including those responsible for the synthesis of adrenalin, peptide hormones and collagen [
12,
13,
14,
15].
Insufficient intake of vitamin C results in lowered plasma ascorbate status. Levels below 11 µmol/L are indicative of the deficiency disease, scurvy [
16,
17], which is accompanied by impaired collagen synthesis resulting in skin changes, bruising, bleeding gums, and poor wound healing [
7,
18]. Early symptoms of vitamin C deficiency, including fatigue, depression, mental weariness, social introversion, hysteria, hypochondriasis, and reduced motivation and arousal [
18,
19,
20,
21,
22], become apparent when plasma levels are <23 µmol/L, a condition described as hypovitaminosis C [
20,
21].
Several studies have suggested that increasing vitamin C intake to ensure plasma and tissue saturation can decrease the fatigue-related symptoms of vitamin C insufficiency and improve physical activity levels [
16,
23,
24]. We, and others, have reported improvements in positive mood and vitality in association with increased fruit and vegetable intake [
3,
25,
26,
27,
28]. Improved vitamin C status is closely aligned with increased fruit and vegetable consumption [
29,
30,
31] and, given the role of vitamin C in neurotransmitter, norepinephrine, and peptide hormone synthesis [
12,
13,
14,
15], it is possible that many of the beneficial effects of fruit and vegetables could be attributed to this component. To determine the contribution of vitamin C to a food-related health benefit requires a specifically targeted and well-controlled study and this was the primary aim of our placebo-controlled intervention study.
We have previously reported pilot evidence of vitality improvements in young men with low baseline plasma vitamin C levels following a six-week intervention with kiwifruit, a high vitamin C food [
32]. Although kiwifruit consumption resulted in the expected plasma saturation, we could not determine the relative contributions of the whole fruit or the vitamin C component to the observed decreased fatigue and improved vigour scores [
32]. The current study was designed as a placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effects of increased vitamin C consumption via a food (kiwifruit), or tablets, on vitality changes in a sample of healthy young adults with low baseline vitamin C levels. The primary vitality outcome measures were self-reported mood disturbance, fatigue, and well-being, which were measured fortnightly during the study. Smartphone surveys were also administered every second night during the study to track day-level changes in sleep and physical activity while also minimising retrospective recall. We hypothesised that participants who consumed kiwifruit or vitamin C tablets would show greater improvements in their mood, fatigue, and well-being over time, relative to those who consumed placebo tablets. As blood plasma vitamin C levels were monitored fortnightly throughout the study, we also hypothesised that changes in vitamin C levels would mirror the improved psychological outcomes reported from consumption of kiwifruit or vitamin C tablets, relative to placebo.
3. Results
As shown in
Figure 2, a total of 170 participants enrolled in the study and attended the baseline session (Week 0). Three people withdrew or were excluded from the study prior to randomization, leaving 167 participants randomized into conditions and included in the primary available cases analysis. After randomization, five people never received their intervention (two for no contact/no show, both assigned to placebo condition; one withdrew/no longer available, assigned to vitamin C condition; two disliked assigned condition and were unwilling to adhere, one assigned to vitamin C condition and one assigned to kiwifruit condition). A further three people withdrew or were excluded for health or medical reasons prior to completing the four-week intervention period (two for health reasons, both in vitamin C condition; one started medication, in kiwifruit condition). Thus, a total of 159 participants completed the four-week intervention and 155 completed the full washout.
For more detail, see
Table 2. These numbers reflect a post-randomization attrition rate of 4.79% for completing the four-week intervention (placebo = 3.70%; vitamin C = 7.14%; and kiwifruit = 3.51%), and 7.19% for completing the full study including washout (placebo = 5.56%; vitamin C = 8.93%; kiwifruit = 7.02%). Attrition rates did not differ by condition (
ps = 0.599 and 0.760).
Repeated measurement of plasma vitamin C status during the lead-in period showed considerable variation in a number of individuals, with many presenting above initial recruitment levels (40 µmol/L) and some increasing to well above saturation levels (60 µmol/L) prior to intervention (
Figure 3). This meant that some participants with adequate vitamin C levels were receiving the intervention. Therefore, we ran two additional subgroups analyses to try to address our original research hypothesis of testing the intervention on people with low vitamin C. We ran a per protocol (PP) analysis on 92 participants with plasma vitamin C level <40 µmol/L during the lead-in period, and a second analysis on 128 participants who maintained below saturation levels of vitamin C (<60 µmol/L) during the lead-in period, as this latter analysis achieved sufficient power and still assessed individuals with low vitamin C levels (a priori power analyses indicated that 120 participants (40 per condition) provided 80% power to detect an effect size of 0.7). Demographic characteristics for the PP subgroup (
n = 92) and the below saturation vitamin C subgroup (
n = 128) are reported in the Online
Supplementary Material. For all analysis, participants were analysed according to their originally assigned condition.
The participant baseline characteristics for the sample overall and by condition are detailed in
Table 3, with additional descriptive statistics in
Supplemental Tables S1 and S2. The recruited cohort was 40/60% men/women, was ethnically heterogeneous and of slightly above average socio-economic status. The average BMI was 24 ± 4.4 (Mean ± SD), with most participants falling within the healthy range; range was from 13 to 43. The sample was not especially distressed as shown by the mean scores on the vitality measures from the two lead-in clinic visits (
Supplemental Table S1). The average total mood disturbance reported at lead-in was relatively low (mean (
M) = 5.68–5.38, SD = 14.12–16.63), with higher scores indicating worse mood on a scale from −20 to 100. Average fatigue was also relatively low (
M = 2.45–1.18, SD = 14.24–15.57), with higher scores indicating higher fatigue on a scale from −24 to 96. Average well-being was moderate to high (
M = 47.85–48.52, SD = 8.65–8.96), with higher scores indicating greater well-being on a scale from 14 to 70. The three conditions were mostly equivalent in demographic characteristics, baseline health characteristics, baseline vitality measures, and baseline vitamin C levels (ANOVAs or Chi-Squares not significant), except that the kiwifruit condition had younger participants (F(2.164) = 8.906,
p < 0.001) with fewer years at university (F(2.164) = 3.305,
p = 0.039) and a trend towards fewer Asian participants (χ
2 (2.167) = 5.230,
p = 0.073) than the other conditions. Moreover, the placebo condition had lower lead-in sleep quality than the vitamin C condition (F(2.163) = 3.054,
p = 0.050). Accordingly, these variables were controlled for in ANCOVA.
Plasma vitamin C levels were significantly affected by both the kiwifruit and vitamin C tablet interventions and reached saturation levels (>60 µmol/L) within two weeks (
Table 4 and
Figure 3). The vitamin C levels were mostly equivalent for the kiwifruit and vitamin C conditions during weeks 2 to 8, except that the vitamin C condition had a trend towards higher levels of vitamin C than the kiwifruit condition at week 6 (81 vs. 75 µmol/L, t(105) = 1.860,
p = 0.066). Levels were maintained at saturation for the duration of the intervention in both conditions. In contrast, there was no change in vitamin C status throughout the study for those in the placebo condition. Vitamin C levels for the intervention conditions decreased significantly following a two-week washout (Week 8) but were still higher than the baseline levels and the placebo group (both different from Week 2 at
p < 0.001) (
Figure 3).
The changes in the primary vitality outcomes by condition for the total sample (
n = 167) are shown in
Figure 4 and
Supplemental Table S1, which compares two weeks of intervention (Study Week 4), the end of the intervention (Study Week 6), and washout (Study Week 8), to the end of the lead-in period (Study Week 2). For the POMS total mood disturbance, only participants in the kiwifruit condition (
Figure 4C) showed significantly reduced total mood disturbance after two weeks of intervention (Study Week 4), and at the end of the intervention (Study Week 6) which returned to baseline at washout (Study Week 8). Participants in the vitamin C condition showed non-significant reductions in their POMS total mood disturbance (
Figure 4B) and those in the placebo condition were unchanged over time (
Figure 4A). Participants in the kiwifruit condition showed a trend reduction in fatigue after two weeks of supplementation (
Figure 4F) but not at four weeks of supplementation (Study Week 6). For participants in the vitamin C condition, fatigue increased significantly upon withdrawal of vitamin C during washout (
p < 0.05). No changes in fatigue were seen in the placebo condition. For well-being, there was a significant increase in well-being after two weeks of kiwifruit supplementation, which remained elevated after four weeks of supplementation and did not decrease at washout (
Figure 4I). Participants in the vitamin C group also showed a trend increase in well-being at the end of the intervention (
Figure 4H), which was eliminated at washout. There was no change in well-being in the placebo group except for an increase between Study Week 4 and 6 of placebo supplementation, which was mainly due to well-being returning to baseline levels (
Supplemental Table S1). There was no reported or observed harm or adverse events as a result of any intervention arm in this study.
The analysis of variance results is presented in
Table 5. The available cases analysis (far right columns) showed significant condition x time effects when comparing Study Week 2 (end of lead-in) with Study Week 4 (second week of intervention) for POMS total mood disturbance (
p = 0.035, partial eta squared (η
p2) = 0.041) and well-being (
p = 0.009, η
p2 = 0.058) and a trend for fatigue (
p = 0.063, η
p2 = 0.034). These effects remained significant when controlling for the demographic and health covariates. However, there were no significant condition x time effects when comparing Study Week 2 (end of lead-in) with Study Week 6 (end of intervention; all ns), and there was only a trend for well-being when comparing all three time points together (
p = 0.054, η
p2 = 0.029). Results were similar in the adjusted models.
The intervention effects were not due to differences between conditions in BMI (Welch’s F(2.99.036) = 0.104,
p = 0.901), physical activity (intervention weeks 3–4, F(2.158) = 0.285,
p = 0.752; intervention weeks 5–6, F(2.157) = 0.029,
p = 0.972), sleep quality (intervention weeks 3–4, F(2.158) = 0.657,
p = 0.520; intervention weeks 5–6, F(2.157) = 0.643,
p = 0.527), sleep quantity (intervention weeks 3–4, F(2.158) = 0.370,
p = 0.692), dietary factors such as total protein intake (F (2.156) = 0.556,
p = 0.575), or total carbohydrate intake (F (2.156) = 2.198,
p = 0.114). There was a trend difference between conditions for sleep quantity (intervention weeks 5–6, F(2.157) = 2.496,
p = 0.086), which was driven by a trend for participants in the vitamin C condition to sleep for marginally longer compared to the placebo condition (
p = 0.095), but not the kiwifruit condition (
p = 0.194). There was also a trend difference between conditions for total energy intake (KJ) (F (2.156) = 2.706,
p = 0.070). A post hoc Tukey HSD test indicated a trend for lower total energy intake (KJ) for the kiwifruit condition during the second half of the intervention (weeks 5–6) compared to the vitamin C condition (
p = 0.073). This difference between conditions was driven by total fat intake (Welch’s F (2.96.204) = 4.016,
p = 0.021). A post hoc Games-Howell test indicated significantly lower total fat intake (grams) for participants in the kiwifruit condition during the second half of the intervention (weeks 5–6) compared to participants in the vitamin C condition (
p = 0.019;
Supplemental Table S2). Importantly, as shown in
Table 5, adjusting for the difference in sleep quantity and fat intake did not change the condition × time effects.
Sensitivity analysis using pattern mixture models based on monotone missing data for the primary outcomes suggested that the observed cases analysis was mostly robust (see Online
Supplementary Material). When looking at different patterns of missing data, the results maintained the same patterns (
Supplemental Table S12). Sensitivity analysis of total mood disturbance, fatigue, and well-being did not weaken results.
The changes in the vitality outcomes by condition for the below saturation vitamin C sample (
n = 128) are shown in
Supplemental Table S5, Supplemental Figure S1, and
Table 5. When testing individuals with consistently below saturation levels of vitamin C during the lead-in phase, participants in the vitamin C arm showed reductions in fatigue after supplementing with vitamin C for two weeks (
p = 0.065) and four weeks (
p = 0.017), which returned to baseline levels at washout (
p = 0.379). ANOVA results from
Table 5 also showed significant condition x time effects for fatigue in the low vitamin C group (
n = 128). These patterns for fatigue were not observed when analysing the full sample suggesting that vitamin C benefits fatigue in those with low vitamin C levels. By contrast, the effects of kiwifruit were similar in the PP, below saturation vitamin C, and observed cases analyses and tended to occur early in the intervention at two weeks, whereas the effects from vitamin C alone tended to build up through the intervention. Results for the PP sample (
n = 92) mostly mirrored results for the below saturation vitamin C sample and are shown in
Supplemental Table S9, Supplemental Figure S2, and
Table 5.
4. Discussion
Our randomised controlled trial aimed to investigate the extent to which vitamin C contributes to the mood improvements reported in association with increased fruit and vegetable intake [
3,
25,
26,
27,
28]. We were able to compare the effects of increased vitamin C intake from a fruit source (SunGold™ kiwifruit) with the equivalent amount of vitamin C in tablet form and with a placebo tablet on subjective vitality in healthy young adults. Improvements in mood and well-being were apparent for the group consuming kiwifruit, whereas improvements in fatigue and well-being were apparent for the group consuming vitamin C but only if they had low levels of vitamin C as selected in the below saturation vitamin C or per protocol subgroups analyses. Importantly, there were no changes in any outcomes in the placebo group.
These results indicate that the vitamin C content of the fruit may be a significant component contributing to improvements in vitality. However, the kiwifruit-mediated effects were broader (affecting more outcomes for more people), and occurred earlier in the intervention at two weeks, whereas the effects from vitamin C alone were narrower (affecting fewer outcomes for specific types of people) and tended to occur throughout the intervention. These differences are notable, particularly given that the kiwifruit and tablet interventions resulted in a comparable increase in plasma vitamin C levels and there are no known differences in uptake and bioavailability of “synthetic” versus “natural” vitamin C [
44]. In this regard, our study provides novel insight into the potential differences between single-nutrient supplementation with a vitamin C tablet versus provision of the same content of vitamin C from a whole fruit. It appears that additional and maybe extended benefits result from whole fruit consumption. This finding reinforces the potential health and well-being benefit from whole food rather than single-nutrient dietary supplementation, although neither intervention showed any harmful side-effects.
Other compounds in whole kiwifruit that could account for their broader effects include fibre, folate, or potassium, all of which are relatively high in SunGold™ kiwifruit [
33,
45,
46]. Increased dietary fibre intake can benefit the gut microbiome, which has been linked to changes in mental health [
47,
48,
49]. Low folate intake has been associated with negative mental health outcomes, such as depression [
50], and a low sodium and high potassium diet is associated with greater vigour and lower levels of depression, tension, and POMS total mood disturbance [
51]. However, the relationship between dietary factors and mental health is complex and is likely mediated by several micronutrient interactions. Further research is required to determine the full impact that dietary factors have on mental health in isolation. Interestingly, we found that supplementing with kiwifruit was associated with reductions in the intake of dietary fat. This may be due to participants substituting kiwifruit for high-fat snacks and/or reductions in appetite from consuming a nutrient-dense whole food. Controlling for fat intake did not attenuate or eliminate the intervention effect, suggesting that reduced fat intake is unlikely to be driving the differences in vitality between the kiwifruit and vitamin C or placebo tablet groups.
Our study design had numerous strengths. The use of placebo and control groups is frequently problematic for food intervention studies and determination of the active ingredient in any particular food is challenging [
52]. By assigning control arms that included a matched vitamin C tablet and a placebo tablet, we were able to include a blinded intervention (tablets) that avoided the complexities associated with the assignment of a different control food that can introduce potentially confounding nutrients. Use of the vitamin C tablet and placebo arms therefore assessed potential benefits of vitamin C on mental health in isolation to other dietary components [
53]. Additional strengths included the length of the eight-week trial with lead-in and washout periods, extensive screening to identify people with low vitamin C levels that ensured that the intervention was appropriately targeted towards individuals in whom vitamin C supplementation would improve baseline status, strict inclusion and exclusion criteria to omit people with conditions that might affect vitamin C processing, and objective measurement of blood vitamin C levels at five time points.
At below-saturation levels, plasma vitamin C concentrations are very sensitive to changes in dietary intake [
16]. Our observation that a number of individuals with an initial plasma concentration <40 µmol/L subsequently showed saturation levels >60 µmol/L during lead-in is consistent with a variable dietary intake for occasional fruit and vegetable eaters. This is potentially a limitation of the study. Running a per protocol (PP) and below saturation vitamin C analysis of those individuals whose plasma vitamin C levels were consistently low or below saturation during the lead-in period ensured that we could still understand how our intervention affected this susceptible population. This enabled us to show that single-nutrient supplementation with a vitamin C tablet was mainly beneficial in those below saturation levels of vitamin C. Further analysis of those with below saturation levels of vitamin C during lead-in allowed us to also assess the intervention on an adequately powered group (
n = 128) in whom increases in vitamin C status was possible. The consistent monitoring of vitamin C levels is therefore a strength of this study and has enabled us to avoid the pitfalls of many other vitamin supplementation studies that have not monitored vitamin status, which potentially confounds interpretation [
21,
54]. Lastly, we noted a trend ethnicity imbalance between the kiwifruit group and the other conditions. Controlling for this imbalance reduced but did not eliminate our intervention effects, which suggest potential ethnicity-linked differences in the effects of vitamin C on vitality worthy of follow up. However, this remains an exploratory question for future research adequately powered to test for differences.
The similarities between the effects of vitamin C and kiwifruit on vitality outcomes suggests that the vitamin contributes to the beneficial effects of fruit consumption. This has often been suggested, but not directly tested. Vitamin C supports numerous functions in vivo that could account for these effects. It is an essential cofactor for two enzymes that synthesise carnitine that is necessary for fatty acid metabolism and energy production [
55,
56]. Vitamin C availability affects carnitine production in animals and humans and has been shown to affect energy production via fat metabolism in healthy individuals [
24,
55,
57,
58].
Vitamin C is also essential for the synthesis of neurotransmitters and peptide hormones in the nervous system and adrenal glands. The Cu-containing enzyme dopamine β-hydroxylase catalyses the conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine [
14,
59,
60] and vitamin C deficiency results in decreased norepinephrine production in animals [
61,
62,
63]. In addition, vitamin C is required for the regeneration of tetrahydrobiopterin, the enzyme cofactor for the tyrosine hydroxylase that produces dopamine [
64]. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter important for contributing “zest to life” [
65], suggesting a possible linking between vitamin C and vitality. The biosynthesis of many amidated peptide-based hormones, including oxytocin, vasopressin, thyrotropin-releasing hormone, and substance P, is catalysed by the vitamin C-dependent peptidylglycine α-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) [
13,
66,
67,
68,
69]. Many of these hormones affect neural processes and could influence both physical and emotional well-being. In particular, oxytocin release is associated with many positive mood enhancing effects [
70]. Strikingly, tissues where these catecholamines and peptide hormones are synthesised contain the highest levels of vitamin C in the body, i.e., pituitary, neurons, ovaries, testes, eyes, adrenals, placenta, thymus, and pancreas [
13,
69,
71]. Based on the above research, it is clear that vitamin C has the potential to influence the nervous system.
However, it is also clear from our study that there are differences in effects between vitamin C alone and whole fruit. This is in line with other studies that have shown vitality gains with fruit and vegetable consumption independently of vitamin C status [
25]. Together with the results from the current study, it would appear that there are indeed additional health benefits that are measurable in a healthy population and that can be gained from ensuring that essential micronutrients such as vitamin C are delivered through whole food rather than a supplement. Future research should also consider the wider mechanisms linking consumption of whole fruits and vegetables to subjective vitality.