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Can vitamin C help protect against “the big C”?
Having higher vitamin C intake was related to a lower risk of numerous cancers in a comprehensive umbrella review published on January 20, 2022 in Frontiers in Nutrition.1
The review evaluated 57 meta-analyses of cancer-related outcomes related to vitamin C intake. Compared to those with the lowest intake, study participants whose vitamin C intake was highest had a:
- 42% lower risk of cervical cancer
- 22% lower risk of kidney cell carcinoma
- 16% lower risk of bladder cancer
- 15% lower risk of endometrial cancer
- 11% lower risk of breast cancer
- 11% lower risk of prostate cancer
High vitamin C intake was also associated with a 19% lower risk of breast cancer recurrence, a 22% lower risk of dying from breast cancer and an 18% reduction in the risk of mortality from all causes among breast cancer patients.
When digestive system cancers were evaluated, the highest intake of vitamin C was associated with a 42% decrease in the risk of esophageal cancer, a 34% lower risk of stomach cancer and a 30% lower risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the lowest intake.
The risk of glioma, a type of brain and spinal cord cancer, was 14% lower among individuals whose vitamin C intake was highest. Lung cancer risk was 17% lower and total cancers were 13% lower when highest vs. lowest vitamin C intake groups were compared. In the meta-analysis of total cancers, each 100 mg per day increment of vitamin C intake was associated with a 7% decreased cancer risk.
“[Linus] Pauling et al. proposed that many patients with malignant neoplasms need vitamin C …in 1979,” authors Zeyu Chen and colleagues at Sichuan University wrote.
“Increased intake of ascorbic acid could bring measurable benefits in prevention and treatment of cancer,” they observed. “We concluded that vitamin C was related to lower risk of multiple cancers of diverse systems.”
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Apply What You've Learned: Vitamin C
- Antioxidants like vitamin C may help prevent many diseases, including certain cancers, in which oxidative stress is a contributing factor.2,3
- Vitamin C may not only play a role in cancer prevention—it also has been used as a cancer therapy when administered in high intravenous doses.4
- Humans are among the few animals who don’t produce their own vitamin C. Therefore, it is critical that we get enough of this essential nutrient from food and/or non-food sources. Concerningly, a U.S. nationwide health survey found that vitamin C insufficiency exists in more than 40% of the population.5
- The RDA of vitamin C for adults 19 years of age and older is currently 90 mg per day for men and 75 mg per day for women.6 Research conducted by notable scientists such as two-time Nobel Prize Winner Linus Pauling suggests there may be benefits with much higher daily vitamin C intake.7,8
References
- Chen Z et al. Front Nutr. 2022 Jan 20;8:812394.
- Klaunig JE et al. Curr Pharm Des. 2018;24(40):4771-4778.
- García-Sánchez A et al. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2020 Jul 23;2020:2082145.
- Böttger F et al. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Oct 30;40(1):343.
- Crook J et al. Nutrients. 2021 Oct 30;13(11):3910.
- “Vitamin C.” National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. 22 Mar 2021. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-Consumer/
- Higdon J et al. “Vitamin C.” Linus Pauling Institute. 2022. https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-C
- Carr AC et al. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2021;61(5):742-755.
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