Infusions, tablets or oranges: when it comes to cancer, what’s vital about vitamin C?
Professor Margreet Vissers is a New Zealand researcher who is exploring the role of vitamin C in cancer, thanks to BCFNZ grant funding and your generous donations.
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, has been à la mode in the medical sphere since the 1970s when Nobel Peace Prize winner, Linus Pauling, dubbed it the panacea of treatments. Yet, wade through the hype and controversy and you’ll find that while vitamin C therapy has potential, the science behind it is less than rock solid.
Unlike other animals which produce vitamin C in their liver and increase their production 100-fold when they’re ill, humans must consume vitamin C daily to keep the body functioning optimally. Most people, however, don’t get enough – the general healthy population averages at 50 micromolar (the unit vitamin C is measured in) compared with the 60 micromolar ideal.
Observational studies have shown that people who are ill have vitamin C levels far lower than they would if they were well. In fact, a large proportion of ill people have levels so low they’re approaching scurvy!
We don’t know yet whether these low vitamin C levels play a role in cancer development, or whether they’re the result of the cancer. This is what Professor Vissers is exploring through her work.
In the meantime, there’s a lot of discussion around which form of vitamin C is best – are infusions better than tablets, or do oranges trump both?
“There’s a time for supplements,” Professors Vissers explains. “When you’re normally well we say ‘food first’, but there are times when it’s really hard to get it from food. It really does help. There’s a huge knock-on effect in terms of quality of life.”
Oral vitamin C boosts blood levels to a point – any excess is flushed out in urine - whereas, intravenous injections (which can be incredibly expensive) bypass this system so can make your blood levels skyrocket. Currently there’s no research to support that more is better so whether the extra money is worth it stands to be proven.
As a general rule, when you’re well, aim for one to two servings of vitamin C-rich food daily, like capsicum, kiwifruit and citrus. When you’re sick, it doesn’t hurt to take vitamin C tablets according to the packet instructions. They’re cheap and it’s pretty hard to overdose since excess is usually flushed from your system.
If you do want to try vitamin C infusions, it’s recommended to discuss this option with your doctor before beginning to make sure it won’t interfere with any of your treatment.