Can cancer REALLY be cured by a simple vitamin?

Vitamin C may be the hidden-in-plain-sight cure for cancer.

Scientists believe an extremely high dose of one vitamin may be the cure for cancer.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - There have been several headlines circulating the internet claiming vitamin C can cure cancer, but is it really true?

According to the Mayo Clinic, the daily recommended dose of vitamin C for the average adult is between 65 to 90 mg.

After years of research, scientists decided injecting adults with a dose 1,000 times more than the recommended levels could target tumor cells and boost the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy in cancer patients.

In 2015, the National Cancer Institute explained some laboratory animals responded well to anti-cancer therapies combined with high levels of vitamin C.

After further research, scientists were ready for human trials.

In a study conducted by the University of Iowa, Professor Garry Buettner, who was the first to propose cancer cells may be vulnerable to redox active compounds such as vitamin C, Buettner explained:

"This paper reveals a metabolic frailty in cancer cells that is based on their own production of oxidizing agents that allows us to utilise existing redox active compounds, like vitamin C, to sensitise cancer cells to radiation and chemotherapy."

Eleven patients were involved in his study, all with brain cancer. They received three infusions of vitamin C, in extremely high doses, each week for two months, followed by seven months of two infusions paired with standard radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

Vitamin C has a half life of only 2 hours, so the high doses were necessary to keep the concentration of the nutrient at 285 times the normal levels in each patient's blood. In addition, the vitamin is an ascorbic acid and is water-soluble, meaning if you consume too much, the body can usually excrete the extra nutrient from the body.

When Vitamin C breaks down in the body, it generates hydrogen peroxide, which damages tissue and DNA. The study revealed tumor cells are more greatly affected by the hydrogn peroxide than healthy cells are, which Buettner says "explains how the very, very high levels of vitamin C used in our clinical trials do not affect normal tissue, but can be damaging to tumor tissue."

The study revealed patients survived 4-6 months longer than the average survival time in patients who undergo the classic treatments alone, though there were some side-effects.

The main issues patients reported were episodes of high blood pressure and dry mouth.

Normally, when an adult takes too much vitamin C, it can cause:

• Abdominal bloating and cramps
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Heartburn
• Insomnia
• Kidney stones
• Nausea
• Vomiting

Compared to a shorter lifespan and the growth of cancerous tumors, patients accepted these side effects with grace.

With the Phase I trial complete, scientists are preparing for Phase II, which will target stage 4 lung cancer and another groups suffering highly aggressive brain tumors.

Scientists continue to experiment and believe they are on the right path to finding the cure.

Co-senior author Assistant Professor Dr. Bryan Allen stated: "The majority of cancer patients we work with are excited to participate in clinical trials that could benefit future patient outcomes down the line. Results look promising."

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