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Medical research confirms the anti-cancer effects of ordinary vitamin C.
According to a new study published in the magazine Science , high doses of injected vitamin C were able to destroy colon cancer cells.
Researchers used cell cultures and experiments on mice to find out what effect vitamin C has on them.
The original data came from applying vitamin C to cell cultures characterized by specific gene mutations that are often present in colorectal types of cancer.
Researchers found that cells exhibiting those mutations were more likely to take in vitamin C metabolites than other cells.
The result was that the cancer cells absorbed such a large amount of vitamin C and its products that it ultimately killed them.
A direct experiment on mice confirmed the effect of vitamin C
Researchers later moved from studying cell cultures directly to mice to test whether they would arrive at similar results. They chose mice because their biochemistry is very similar to humans.
The result of the experiment was astonishing. Even in mice, scientists observed the destruction of cancer cells.
Further research identified the mechanism by which vitamin C was able to destroy cancer cells.
It works by vitamin C reducing the amount of ATP molecules in cancer cells, from which energy is produced. This, in turn, leads to a drastic energy shortage, causing tumors to die.
The results of the study are significant because they describe the cellular mechanisms that lead to the destruction of cancer cells.
Scientists also found that the active substance is the metabolic product of vitamin C called dehydroascorbate. Its major advantage is that it acts selectively only on cancer cells, while healthy cells are not harmed.
Further studies confirming the effect of vitamin C on cancer
This is not the first study to confirm the anti-cancer effects of vitamin C.
According to another study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Transactional Medicine last February, patients receiving injections of vitamin C were able to increase the effectiveness of conventional chemotherapy and alleviate its side effects.
As BBC News reported , scientists in the lab injected vitamin C into ovarian cancer cells in both mice and people in advanced stages of the disease. The cancer cells were destroyed and healthy cells were unaffected.
Additionally, as already mentioned, a small group of patients reported that they tolerated the side effects of chemotherapy much better with vitamin C.
Clinical trials on humans are unlikely because pharmaceutical companies cannot patent vitamin C
Although evidence of vitamin C’s effectiveness against cancer is continually increasing, we will probably not see large clinical trials on humans.
The reason? It’s simple — pharmaceutical companies cannot patent vitamins.
Clinical trials require vast amounts of money needed for the development and approval of new drugs.
And pharmaceutical companies will not invest money in natural substances like vitamin C. They would not profit from it and at the same time would destroy their billion-dollar business producing current toxic cancer drugs.
As Qi Chen, the author of the mentioned new study, states:
“Because vitamin C cannot be patented, its research in cancer treatment will not be supported by the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, this research should be funded by government bodies.”
Whether they will commit to this, however, remains an open question …
