Question about Vitamin C

[TanyaRD]

The role of vitamin C in cancer treatment and prevention remains unclear. Some studies have demonstrated that high doses of supplemental vitamin C can interfere with the effectiveness of certain chemotherapy agents (From MSK: Vitamin C can reduce the effectiveness of many antineoplastic agents, include vincristine, doxorubicin, methotrexate, cisplatin, and imatinib.) The amount of vitamin C consumed in the average diet is not enough to worry about. I do not advise my patients to avoid fruits and vegetables during chemo/xrt treatment but discourage use of vitamin C supplements as a precaution. I do caution against some of the special formulated juices (including excessive homemade juicing) designed for a high dose of antioxidants. Even when chemotherapy is complete I do not put vitamin C supplementation at the top of my list due to limited and conflicting research on the benefits. I would rather my patients obtain the vitamin c and other nutrients in their diet. We have a lot of definitive research demonstrating the benefits of high fruit/vegetable intake in breast cancer.

[Westcoastgirl]

My readings have encouraged me to take only Fish Oil, Calcium and Vit D supplements. I have even stopped taking a multi vit/min. There is too much conflicting data that I have decided to make sure I have an extremely healthy diet with lots of leafy greens, etc. It is not hard to take in all the required vitamins in a good, well rounded wholesome diet. We estrogen + girls need to be extra careful but as long as we ingest the suspect elements in food as opposed to supplements we are pretty safe. Good to read the labels though. Carolyn