Vitamin C Helps Prevent Peptic Ulcers, Stomach Cancer
8-3-3
(ANI) -- People who consume a vitamin C-rich diet on a regular basis are less likely to develop peptic ulcers or stomach cancer, says a new study.
Published in the August 1 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers said: "This is the largest study to look at the relationship between vitamin C levels and infection by Helicobacter pylori."
H. pylori is an ulcer-causing bacteria.
Joel A. Simon, staff physician at San Francisco VA Medical Centre and associate professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics at University of California at San Francisco and his collaborators tested stored blood samples for H. pylori infection from a random sample of nearly 7,000 participants aged between two months and 90 years.
Samples of nearly a third (32 percent) of the participants tested positive for antibodies to H. pylori, indicating that their immune systems had previously mounted an attack against the bacteria.
More than half of those who tested positive showed evidence of infection by the particularly toxic strain of the bacteria.
In addition to testing for H. pylori infection, the researchers also analyzed Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, levels in the blood of the participants and found that those with the highest blood levels of vitamin C had a 25 percent lower prevalence of infection.
"Some studies using animal models suggest that adequate Vitamin C intake may reduce infection with these bacteria. The bottom line is that higher levels of vitamin C may have the potential to prevent peptic ulcers and stomach cancer," said Simon.
