Researchers are increasingly discovering the role of cancer stem cells in the growth and spread of the disease. In revolutionary research, vitamin C has shown its ability to target cancer stem cells and stop their growth – preventing the recurrence of tumors. Although mainstream medicine has been slow to accept vitamin C's cancer-fighting properties, the exciting results of this study could help change that.
It's official: vitamin C interferes with the metabolism of cancer stem cells
In a recent study conducted at the University of Salford in Manchester, vitamin C demonstrated its ability to stop tumors from growing by disrupting the metabolism of cancer stem cells – suppressing their ability to process energy for survival and growth. Cancer stem cells are responsible for stimulating the recurrence of tumors and stimulating their growth and metastasis. Researchers believe that cancer stem cells give cancer the ability to resist chemotherapy and radiation – which is why treatments fail in patients with advanced cancer. The study, led by researchers Michael P. Lisanti and Gloria Bonucelli, was published in the recent journal Oncotarget. Peer-reviewed studies are considered the gold standard of scientific research. The study was the first to investigate the effects of vitamin C on cancer stem cells – and provided the first evidence that vitamin C can target and kill them. In a comparison of seven different substances, vitamin C even outperformed an experimental cancer drug.
Plant sources of vitamin C
Plants are a good source of vitamin C, although the amount of vitamin C in certain plant species varies and depends on: the climatic conditions in which the plant grew and the quality of the soil, the freshness of the fruit (by standing the harvested plant, vitamin C oxidizes) and on the method of processing the plant for the purpose of consumption (cooking, chopping, grinding).[41]
The following tables approximately show the relative ratios of the amounts of vitamin C in certain plant species.[42][43][44] The amount of vitamin C is measured in milligrams per 100 grams of plant food. Vitamin C amounts are shown as mean values from multiple measurements.
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| Plant | Amount of vitamin C (mg / 100g) |
|---|---|
| Kakadu plum | 3150 |
| Camu Camu –Myrciaria dubia | 2800 |
| Pomegranate | 2000 |
| Acerola | 1600 |
| Indian gooseberry | 720 |
| Chinese date | 500 |
| Baobab | 400 |
| Blackcurrants | 200 |
| Red pepper | 190 |
| Parsley | 130 |
| Seabuckthorn | 120 |
| Adder | 100 |
| Kiwi | 90 |
| Broccoli | 90 |
| Black beans – hybrid of blackberry and raspberry | 80 |
| Currants - red | 80 |
| Dwarf mulberry | 60 |
| Khaki apple | 60 |
Vitamin C works ten times better than the experimental cancer drug 2-DG
The team investigated the effect of seven different substances on cancer stem cells. Three were natural substances, three were experimental drugs, and one was an FDA-approved and widely used clinical drug. The natural products studied, along with vitamin C, were silibinin – derived from thistle seeds – and caffeic acid phenyl ester – or CAPE – derived from honey bee propolis. The experimental drugs were actinonin, FK866 and 2-DG, and the clinical one was stiripentol. Researchers observed that vitamin C destroys cancer stem cells by inducing oxidative stress. And, the vitamin performed this process ten times more efficiently than 2-DG. Vitamin C uses two different mechanisms of action to attack cancer stem cells. It acted as a pro-oxidant in cancer cells, depleting their antioxidant glutathione and causing oxidative stress and apoptosis – or cell death. It also inhibited glycolysis, which is the process that creates energy production in the mitochondria of cells. By inhibiting glycolysis, vitamin C inhibits the synthesis of mitochondrial proteins in cancer stem cells—while not affecting healthy cells.
A non-toxic strategy to avoid the serious side effects of most pharmaceutical drugs
Both experimental and approved cancer drugs can have serious side effects, including thrombocytopenia -- a lack of platelets in the blood that can cause bruising and slow blood clotting. They can also trigger lymphopenia – a decrease in the body's infection-fighting white blood cells – and anemia, or a low red blood cell count. And the clinically approved drug used in the study, stiripentol, can cause severe nausea, vomiting and fatigue. On the other hand, the National Cancer Center reports that high doses of vitamin C caused very few side effects when used in clinical studies.
Scientifically speaking, the future is bright for vitamin C
All seven tested substances inhibited the growth of cancer cells to varying degrees – including non-toxic natural substances. But the researchers said the most "exciting" results were with vitamin C. The research team concluded that vitamin C is a "promising new agent" and called for additional studies to investigate its use as an adjunct to conventional cancer therapies to prevent tumor recurrence and growth. "Vitamin C is cheap, natural, non-toxic and easily available, so using it as a potential weapon in the fight against cancer would be a significant step," noted Dr. Lisanti. As in most of the successful studies showing vitamin C's cancer-fighting properties, the researchers used high doses of vitamin C, administered intravenously. IV vitamin C therapy is available in some alternative and holistic cancer treatment clinics around the world.
The real reason why Western medicine and the mainstream media ignore vitamin C
Again, vitamin C was 1,000 percent more effective than 2-DG, an experimental pharmaceutical drug, at targeting cancer stem cells. If vitamin C had been developed by big pharma, these results would be shouted from the rooftops and featured in newspaper headlines. But, as always, the "powers that be" in mainstream medicine answer ... crickets reason; say natural health experts, it's too obvious. As a natural nutrient and vitamin, vitamin C cannot be patented, is cheap and easy to obtain. Therefore, cancer clinics have no incentive to promote it - when they can grab the profits from chemotherapy instead. Western medicine's indifference to vitamin C is all the more frustrating because previous studies have shown the nutrient to be effective and non-toxic against cancer, including many conducted by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Linus Pauling. A Japanese study showed that vitamin C reduces the mortality of cancer patients by 25 percent. In addition, it has inhibited tumors in animal studies and has been shown to kill cancer cells in a wide range of cancer cell lines. How long will the cancer-fighting potential of this safe and powerful nutrient be ignored?
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