EAT FRUIT AND VEG TO BEAT CANCER

A DIET rich in vitamin C could help fight cancer, a study claims.

US researchers found high doses of vitamin C found in fruits such as oranges and green vegetables such as kale and broccoli may be an effective weapon against the disease.

The study suggests that vitamin C may “tell” faulty stem cells in our bone marrow to mature and die.

That means the traditional blood cancer danger cells would naturally disappear – instead of multiplying to cause leukaemia.

The findings were uncovered by researchers from Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York and published in the cancer journal Cell.

Perlmutter director Professor Benjamin G Neel said: “We are excited by the prospect that highdose vitamin C might become a safe treatment for blood diseases caused by leukaemia stem cells, most likely in combination with other targeted therapies.”

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and several previous studies had already hinted that high levels could attack cancer cells.

The current recommended daily amount of vitamin C is 60mg, taken from either fruit and vegetables or tablet supplements.

High vitamin C fruit and vegetables include bell peppers, dark leafy greens, kiwi fruit, broccoli, berries, oranges, tomatoes, green peas and papayas.

The study explored the link between vitamin C and a “tumour suppressor” protein enzyme in the human body called TET2.

The enzyme helps to guard against blood cancers such as leukaemia and is also believed to protect against heart disease. But mutations in the gene affect about one per cent of the over-65s, making them susceptible to blood cancer.

Although TET2 loss does not create cancer, it helps to create the conditions for cancers to thrive.

Scientists in the New York study found that in mice engineered to have only small amounts of TET2, high doses of vitamin C dramatically activated the enzyme.

The scientists also revealed that when they implanted leukaemia stem cells from human patients into mice, high doses of vitamin C suppressed the cells’ growth.

However, Cancer Research UK has sounded a note of caution about this latest research.

Senior science information manager Anna Perman explained: “Some doctors think that antioxidants like vitamin C might interfere with chemotherapy, which we know can be effective treatment.

“The important thing for cancer patients to remember is that this study is looking at the action of vitamin C in the laboratory, not the effect of eating foods or supplements that contain vitamin C.

“This should not prompt anyone receiving treatment to change their diet or treatment plan.”

Earlier this month a study from the University of Salford found that when combined with antibiotics, vitamin C could be up to 100 times more effective at killing cancer cells than “standard” drugs.

Giving an antibiotic followed by vitamin C effectively starves cancer cells of their “fuel”, the study found.