Popping vitamin C pills may not be as good for you as many consumers believe. According to a laboratory study recently conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, the vitamin, which offers some protection against the common cold and other diseases, may also damage DNA. This could be the first step in forming cancer cells, although this link has not yet been established.
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The research does ring warning bells about the use of vitamin C pills, said Ian A. Blair, lead author of the study, which appeared in the journal Science on Friday. People should get their nutrients through a balanced diet, says Blair, because “vitamin C can do some good things, but it can do some bad things as well.”
The study analysed the effects of vitamin C on lipid hydroperoxide, which is produced from dietary fats. The researchers found that vitamin C could act as a highly efficient catalyst to produce agents called genotoxins, toxins that damages DNA. “The cell has an exquisite repair mechanism for lesions in the DNA,” said Blair, adding that the study may explain why no previous study has been able to prove that vitamin C protects against cancer.
He added: “There are two camps — people who think vitamin C supplementation is good for you and those who think it is bad for you. There is a paucity of any scientific evidence that it is really good for you.”
