Stress Tests

Even buffaloes need vitamins to help buffer the stresses imposed by seasonal change. Researchers measuring the levels of vitamins C and E in the blood serum of Murrah buffaloes in India found levels to drop when the animals were exposed to cold or hot conditions. The dip may be linked to the vitamins’ antioxidant properties. Both help mop up hazardous chemicals produced as a by-product of our metabolism. A separate study identified vitamin E as protective against oxidative stress in humans suffering from metabolic syndrome, a condition that poses a risk of heart disease. While many of us will reach for the vitamin pills to ward off the common cold, the health benefits of these curative chemicals are manifold.

Written by Brona McVittie

Brona McVittie

Writer/Consultant

Independent science blogger and musician. Got the whole BPoD show on the road while heading up the public engagement team at the MRC CSC. Loves gardening, cooking and diving. Makes corkbots too.

• Image by Kleomarlo
• Wikimedia Commons
• Originally published under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike licence
• Research published in Journal of Stress Physiology & Biochemistry, February 2013