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Vitamin
C: Why I still say it's good for you (ARTICLE) taken from: Daily Mail, Tuesday, 19th June, 2001 However, before we rush to throw our vitamin C supplements in the bin, we should perhaps look more closely at this most recent research to see what, if any, conclusions can be drawn from it. Cancerous tumours are formed when one of the body's cells starts to divide uncontrollably. The rate at which cells divide is controlled by genetic material known as DNA. Damage to DNA is what is thought to be at the root of the cancer-causing process. Last week's study found that vitamin C enhanced the conversion of specific types of fats (known as lipid hydroperoxides) in the body into compounds known to damage DNA. It is this chemical effect which has thrown up the possibility that vitamin C may increase the risk of cancer However, it must be borne in mind that the link between vitamin C and enhanced risk of cancer is entirely theo-retical. For the fact is the study was conducted in test tubes, not the human body. Our body contains a complex and intricate balance of thousands of enzymes, nutrients, hormones and other substances: test tubes don't. For this reason, it is simply inappropriate to assume that the chemical effects a substance is found to have in the laboratory will be the same as those in the body. For example, the body contains vitamin E, while the solution used in the vitamin C study did not. Vitamin E is known to help prevent the very chemical change which vitamin C was found to promote. What is more, vitamin C has been shown to enhance vitamin E's ability to have this protective effect. From this fact alone, it is reasonable to assume that vitamin C's action in the body is more likely to prevent, rather than promote, cancer. Vitamin C is what is known as a 'water-soluble' vitamin. Because of this, it is not thought to interact in the body with fatty substances such as the lipid hydroperoxides used in the study. Therefore, the researchers have created a situation in the test tube that is not thought to occur naturally in the body. There is some evidence which suggests vitamin C is generally protective for cancer. It enhances the function of the immune system, which may help the body neutralise early tumours. Vitamin C is also known to combat cancer-triggering 'free radical' molecules. In addition, vitamin C has been found to slow the growth of some cancer cells, and has been found to help quell the production of cancer-causing substances known as nitrosamines. These theoretical benefits of vitamin C do seem to translate into the real world. One study published last year in the International Journal of Cancer found that high vitamin C intake reduced the risk of stomach cancer by about half. More research, this time in animals, has suggested that vitamin C could help prevent cancers of the colon and bladder. When considering our requirement for vitamin C, it is important to
remember that human beings, along with other primates, the guinea pig
and an obscure species of bat, are the only mammals which cannot manufacture
vitamin C in the body. Those animals which do manufacture vitamin C
have been shown to produce massive amounts when subjected to stresses
such as infection and poisoning. While 60 mg is the official recommended
daily amount (RDA) of vitamin C in the UK, this represents only the
level of intake required to prevent scurvy. It is suggested that higher
doses are required for optimum health, and quite large doses may be
needed during times of illness. While supplementation is not a replacement
for a healthy diet, declining food quality has meant the addition of
nutrients to the diet is likely to have an important role in health
maintenance and disease prevention. I see no good reason why individuals
who take vitamin C as a supplement should not continue to do so. More:- Foresight Literature Summaries
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