Vitamin C, E, Omega 3-fatty acids prevent pancreatic cancer

Although pancreatic cancer is highly lethal,  we don't know much about its etiology except that smoking has been linked to increased risk of the disease.
Now a study published Jan 26 2010 in the International Journal of Cancer has found evidence suggesting that high intake of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins C and E may reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Gong Z and colleagues from the School of Medicine University of California in San Francisco analyzed data from a large population-based case-control study in the San Francisco Bay area and found high intake of vitamin C and E and omega 3 fatty acids was associated with low risk of pancreatic cancer.
Study subjects with intake of eight saturated fatty acids in the highest quartile were at a 60 to 160 percent increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those with their intake in the lowest quartile.
Those who had their intake of monounsaturated palmitoleic and oleic fatty acids in the highest quartile were at 60 percent and 40 percent increased risk respectively compared to those with their intake in the lowest quartile.
Intake of polyunsaturated linolenic acid in the highest quartile seemed to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 50 percent compared to the lowest quartile.
Gadolic acid and omega -3 fatty acids were found beneficial. The highest intake was linked to 32 percent and 53 percent reduced risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the lowest intake.
Vitamin C and vitamin E were inversely associated with the risk. Comparing the lowest intake, the highest intake of vitamin C and E were associated with 31 and 33 percent reduced risk respectively.
No association was found for vitamins from food though.
The researchers concluded "These results support the hypotheses that a high intake of saturated and certain monounsaturated fatty acids may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, whereas greater intake of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins C and E may reduce the risk."
Pancreatic cancer is diagnose in 42,000 people each year in the U.S. and the disease kills 35,000 annually in the country, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Early pancreatic cancer often does not cause any symptoms.  When the cancer grows, symptoms that become apparent include pain in the upper abdomen or upper back, yellow skin and eyes, and dark urine from jaudice, weakness, loss of appetite, nausea and vomitting and weight loss.
The prognosis for the disease is very poor.  About 5 percent of patients diagnosed with the disease are alive five years after diagnosis.  Among those who receive surgery, about 10 to 30 percent are alive five years after diagnosis.  Only about 20 percent of patients find their cancer early enough to undergo surgery, which boosts the odds of surviving.  Surgery itself is risky and 1 to 16 percent of patients could die during the surgery.

Vitamin C puts the brakes on cancer cell growth

by S. L. Baker, features writer

(NaturalNews) A half century ago, Linus Pauling began his pioneering research into how vitamin C impacts health (http://www.n aturalnews.co m/025802.html). Now, almost 25 years after Pauling's death, a new study backs up his contention that vitamin C has remarkable healing and protective benefits. In fact, now scientists have discovered how vitamin C may put the brakes on the growth of cancer cells.

Margreet Vissers, associate professor at the University of Otago's Free Radical Research Group in New Zealand, headed the study which was just published in the journal Cancer Research. "Our results offer a promising and simple intervention to help in our fight against cancer, at the level of both prevention and cure," Dr.Vissers said in a statement to the press.

She pointed out that the role of vitamin C in cancer treatment has been debated for years, with many anecdotal accounts claiming vitamin C can help in both the prevention and treatment of cancer. In earlier studies conducted by Dr. Vissers, she demonstrated the vitamin's importance in keeping cells healthy. And these findings suggested that vitamin C might be able to limit diseases such as cancer that involve cells that go haywire. In the case of a malignancy, for example, cells have unregulated growth.

So Dr. Vissers and her New Zealand research team decided to investigate whether vitamin C levels were lower in patients with endometrial tumors. They also looked to see whether these low vitamin C levels correlated with the aggressiveness of a malignancy and the resistance of a tumor to medical therapy.

The results? Tumors were less able to accumulate vitamin C when compared with normal healthy tissue and a lack of vitamin C allowed tumors to survive and grow more easily. Tumors with low vitamin C levels were found to contain more of a protein dubbed HIF-1 which helps cancer thrive and spread, even under conditions of stress.

The findings are important because they provide evidence for the first time of a relationship between HIF-1 and levels of vitamin C levels in cancerous tumors. And it appears treating cancer patients with adequate amounts of vitamin C might well reduce HIF-1, help limit the rate of tumor growth and increase the responsiveness to tumors to therapy. Vitamin C might even prevent the formation of solid tumors in the first place, according to Dr. Vissers media statement.

The Probable New Cancer Drug: Vitamin C

There has been major breakthrough in cancer treatment research, sources confirm. Research scientists at the University of Otago School Of Medicine say that including Vitamin C in your daily diet could reduce the risk of cancer; in fact, it could also help fight cancer. This link between Vitamin C and cancer treatment, if true, could actually change the face of medicine in a myriad ways.
The research of these scientists has been published in the highly-esteemed Cancer Research journal, and it indicates that if Vitamin C is introduced to a tumour, it may reduce in size, become less resistant to chemotherapy and bring about a possible cure. It will also slow the rate of growth of the tumour, and the cancer cells will be more likely to respond to chemo treatment.
The research also involves a study that indicates that Vitamin C kills the protein that helps carcinogenic cells to grow. Dr. Visser, a part of the team, confirms that the Vitamin C treatment would apply to most solid cancers, including haematological tumours like leukaemia.
After this research, it is upto to doctors to find various ways to introduce the vitamin to tumours and cancer cells. Also, what is important to know is that Vitamin C is one that is benefits not only cancer patients but also people who just want to keep healthy.
Looks like this is very good news for the medical fraternity!

sering Suntik Vitamin C Picu Stroke ?

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INILAH.COM, Jakarta - Tersiar kabar Presiden SBY terkena stroke akibat sering mendapatkan suntikan vitamin C. Benarkah sering melakukan suntikan tersebut berakibat stroke?

Vitamin C sering disebut sebagai rajanya vitamin, karena vitamin C memang memiliki banyak manfaat. Selain bersifat antioksidan yang mampu melawan radikal bebas, vitamin C juga berperan dalam meningkatkan sistem imun. Belakangan ini vitamin c juga menjadi sebuah konsumsi untuk kebutuhan penampilan.

Dosis konsumsi vitamin C yang ideal adalah 75 miligram per hari. Perempuan hamil dan ibu menyusui sudah tentu harus mengonsumsi vitamin C lebih besar dari jumlah tadi.
Ada juga yang berpendapat cukup mengonsumsi 200 miligram sehari. Bagi orang yang hidup dengan stres atau mereka yang tinggal di kota besar yang penuh polusi, seperti Jakarta, dosis 500 miligram adalah dosis cukup baik.

Tidak semua orang sadar dan mau mengonsumsi makanan sehat seimbang. Padahal, kebiasaan itu secara tidak langsung menjamin pasokan zat gizi, mineral, dan vitamin dalam tubuh secara memadai. Vitamin C mudah kita temui dalam kehidupan sehari hari.

Kondisi itu kemudian memunculkan berbagai pilihan. Bagi mereka yang kurang mendapat asupan vitamin melalui makanan alami, muncul berbagai produk suplemen sebagai jawabannya.
Tetapi juga banyak orang sulit mengkonsumsi suplemen vitamin C dengan cara oral (diminum), seperti penderita penyakit lambung. Maka muncul alternatif lain untuk dapat mengkonsumsi suplemen Vitamin C. Salah satu pilihan itu tersaji dalam bentuk injeksi atau suntikan vitamin.

Orang kian tertarik mencoba suntik vitamin C karena sifat antioksidan dari vitamin ini.Selain dapat meningkatkan kekebalan tubuh dan mempercepat proses penyembuhan, juga akan membuat kulit tampak lebih cantik dan awet muda.

Dosis suntik vitamin C

Prof. Dr. Budhi Setianto, Kardiolog RS Harapan Kita, Jakarta menjelaskan pemberian suntik vitamin C tidak boleh melebihi anjuran dokter, apalagi terlalu sering. Seperti suntik vitamin C dengan tujuan kecantikan. karena lama-lama pembuluh darah akan mengeras dan mengganggu sirkulasi darah.

”Sirkulasi darah yang baik dihasilkan oleh kerja sama antara jantung, darah dan komponen-komponennya, serta pembuluh darah itu sendiri. Apabila terjadi gangguan pada salah satu komponen tersebut, maka sirkulasi darah akan terganggu. Akibatnya, suplai darah tidak mencukupi kebutuhan dan lebih lanjut dapat menyebabkan serangan jantung, stroke ataupun fungsi organ tubuh lainnya. Untuk itu, peredaran darah yang lancar sangat penting bagi kesehatan kita,” jelas Budhi.

Disamping itu, mungkin efek negatif yang ditimbulkan tidak serta merta, tetapi dalam jangka panjang dapat mengganggu fungsi ginjal.Sebetulnya yang paling berbahaya adalah apabila ada penolakan dari tubuh sewaktu penyuntikan, maka dapat menyebabkan kematian seketika.
"Suntikan vitamin C dalam dosis tinggi diperlukan bagi orang yang menderita sakit (flu) agar stamina cepat pulih," tambah Budhi.

Sementara itu, dr Titi Moertolo, Spesialis penyakit kulit dan kelamin menambahkan, asupan Vitamin C yang layak kita konsumsi setiap harinya hanya 50-60 miligram (mg) per hari. Ini bisa kita peroleh melalui buah yang kita konsumsi.

“Dengan satu buah jeruk saja setiap hari, sebenarnya asupan vitamin C untuk kita sudah cukup,” jelasnya.

Lain halnya dengan suntikan vitamin C. Untuk satu kali suntik, 4.000 mg vitamin C akan masuk ke tubuh kita. Ini berarti jauh melebihi dosis normal yang seharusnya kita konsumsi.
Dr. Titi tidak memungkiri bahwa, tampilan kulit akan menjadi lebih cerah, bahkan lebih putih setelah lima kali suntik vitamin C. Ini karena vitamin C menghambat pembentukan pigmen pada kulit.

Namun efek sampingnya bisa jauh lebih berbahaya. Jika sudah terlalu sering endapan vitamin C di dalam tubuh memungkinkan adanya kristalisasi. Perlu diwaspadai juga terbentuknya batu ginjal yang bisa menimbulkan penyakit. [mor]