The vitamin 10 times stronger than a cancer drug

It’s no secret that cancer survivors take their vitamins.

In fact, a study published in the last couple of years showed that 79 percent of people who survive cancer and 68 percent of people who never get cancer report using one or more vitamins.

But are there specific vitamins you should take to heal from and prevent cancer?

The answer is yes. There are two vitamins that have been proven time and time again to kill cancer cells and decrease your risk of a wide array of cancers…

One of them is vitamin D, which has been shown to decrease your risk of colorectal, lung, prostrate, breast and ovarian cancers, among others.

But the vitamin with the longest history as a scientifically-proven cancer-fighter is the antioxidant vitamin — vitamin C…

C is for cancer-fighting

You may have heard a thing or two about Nobel Prize-winning chemist Linus Pauling’s work with vitamin C…

Over 45 years ago, Pauling proved that vitamin C killed cancer cells and had impressive cancer-fighting abilities. And in the decades since, countless studies have supported Pauling’s findings… including some published in just the past few months…

A recent study from researchers at the University of Salford, for example, found that vitamin C stopped cancer stem cell growth ten times better than experimental cancer drugs like 2-DG.

In case you don’t know, cancer stem cells play a dangerous role in fueling tumor growth. They are immortal cells that can keep dividing indefinitely. These dangerously prolific stem cells have been found in a lot of tumors… making them the perfect target for future cancer treatments. And vitamin C may be one of the most promising treatments so far…

In their study, researchers studied how different natural and pharmaceutical compounds affected cancer stem cells’ ability to survive and thrive. Their goal was to disrupt these cells’ metabolism so they would run out of energy and essentially starve.

Researchers studied six other compounds besides vitamin C: silibinin (milk thistle), caffeic acid phenyl ester (a honey-bee derivative) and three experimental pharmaceuticals (actinonin, FK866 and 2-DG). But something stood out about vitamin C in particular…

It inhibited the growth of cancer stem cells extremely effectively… ten times more effectively than the experimental cancer drug 2-DG. And besides its effectiveness, vitamin C has a lot of other upsides as a cancer-fighter too…

“Vitamin C is cheap, natural, non-toxic and readily available, so to have it as a potential weapon in the fight against cancer would be a significant step,” said Dr. Michael P. Lisanti, Professor of Translational Medicine at the University of Salford.

University of Salford researchers aren’t the only ones coming to this conclusion about vitamin C’s promising role in cancer prevention and treatment…

A recent study published in Frontiers in Oncology found that a diet high in vitamin C can reduce the risk of lung cancer in heavy smokers. And another recent study from Japanese researchers found that vitamin C can reduce the risk of death for women with breast cancer by 25 percent.

Vitamin C saves the day

So if you want to use vitamins in your cancer prevention plan, getting enough vitamin C should be your first priority. You can start by increasing the amount of vitamin C you get in your diet. All you have to do is eat more:

• Papaya
• Bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Brussel sprouts
• Strawberries
• Pineapples
• Oranges
• Kiwi
• Cantaloupe
• Cauliflower
• Kale
• Cabbage
• Bok choy
• Grapefruit

If you want to use supplements to get more vitamin C, try supplements that come from whole food sources like camu camu or Indian gooseberry. You can take up to 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C without any adverse side effects. But any more than that may upset your stomach.

Sources:

1. “Vitamin C effective in targeting cancer stem cells.” MedicalXpress. https://medicalxpress.com. Retrieved March 15, 2017.

2. Bonuccelli, et al. “NADH autofluorescence, a new metabolic biomarker for cancer stem cells: Identification of Vitamin C and CAPE as natural products targeting ‘stemness.’” Oncotarget, 2015.

3. “Study shows that antioxidants may reduce lung cancer risk.” MedicalXpress. https://medicalxpress.com. Retrieved March 15, 2017.

4. Shareck, et al. “Inverse Association between Dietary Intake of Selected Carotenoids and Vitamin C and Risk of Lung Cancer.” Frontiers in Oncology, 2017.

5. “Cancer stem cells in solid tumours: accumulating evidence and unresolved questions.” Nature Reviews Cancer 8, October 2008; 755-768.