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The use of vitamins and minerals in the prevention of cancer has shown promising results over the past years. Now, an immune booster and potent antioxidant, Vitamin C, has been linked to preventing cancer, fighting cancer cells and battling recurring tumors.

According to the National Institutes of Health, vitamin C is an antioxidant that plays a pivotal role in making collagen. Aside from that, since the 1970s, high-dose vitamin C has been known to be an affective treatment for patients with cancer.

In fact, studies have shown that high doses of this vitamin may even slow the growth and spread of certain cancers affecting the liver, colon, prostate and pancreas.

What Is Vitamin C?

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin which means that the body does not store it. Thus, it's usually acquired from food and supplements. The most common food sources of vitamin C are citrus foods, tomatoes and broccoli.

This vitamin is important in the body because it helps in the growth and repair of the various tissues in the body. Aside from that, it aids in collagen formation, an important protein used to make ligaments, cartilage and blood vessels.

One of the most important roles of vitamin C is it's a potent antioxidant that fights off free radicals by blocking some of the damage they make in the body. When free radicals build up over time, it may contribute to the aging process and the emergence of certain diseases such as cancer, heart disease, vascular diseases and arthritis.

Vitamin C Fights Cancer

There are many studies that have associated vitamin C in the fight against cancer. Some argue, however, that these studies entail the use of oral vitamin C. Today, intravenous therapy of vitamin C has been gaining immense popularity because it's considered more potent and powerful in the fight against cancer.

In fact, according to the Los Angeles Times, high doses of vitamin C boosted the effectiveness of chemotherapy in mice and helped blunted toxic side effects in humans. It mitigated the grueling side effects of chemotherapy among cancer patients, which has been the problem faced by millions of cancer patients across the globe.

A more recent study, as reported by Science Daily, says that vitamin C supplementation in combination with an epigenetic cancer drug called decitabine enhanced the drug's ability to control cancer growth and trigger cellular self-destruction in cancer cell lines dubbed as apoptosis.