Vitamin “C” does NOT stand for “Contradiction”

The new findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine followed some 21,831 men and women over 12 years, for us to learn that increased blood levels of vitamin C may reduce the risk of developing diabetes by a full 62 %!

“The strong independent association observed in this prospective study, together with biological plausibility, provides persuasive evidence of a beneficial effect of vitamin C and fruit and vegetable intake on diabetes risk,” wrote lead author Anne-Helen Harding from Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England.

But what can we make of the overwhelming data showing that antioxidant supplementation may increase the risks of cancer, as in today’s release of a huge summary of summaries (Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2008 Jun 30. “Systematic review and meta-analysis: primary and secondary prevention of gastrointestinal cancers with antioxidant supplements.”)

Conclusion: We could not find evidence that the studied antioxidant supplements prevent gastrointestinal cancers. On the contrary, they seem to increase overall mortality. (emphsis mine).

CONCLUSIONS: Supplemental multivitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, and folate were not associated with a decreased risk of lung cancer. Supplemental vitamin E was associated with a small increased risk. Patients should be counseled against using these supplements to prevent lung cancer. (emphsis mine, click here for reference)

Vitamin C is good for you. Period. But the form of vitamin C matters. Your body expects this critical nutrient in the form it has been created for — food. So, to get your vitamin C, eat foods with vitamin C.

The only reason we might see the above results as contradictory is if we assume that vitamin C, abstracted into a pill, is treated the same way by the body as the vitamin C you get from pepper, citrus, or onion. We shouldn’t really need a full blown study to show us that but, now that we have it, it should serve as a confirmation of the rule: eat food.

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine Volume 168, Number 14, Pages 1493-1499″Plasma Vitamin C Level, Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, and the Risk of New-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus – The European Prospective Investigation of Cancer – Norfolk Prospective Study”