Vitamin C Benefit Lost by Fat Intake

Most of us know that getting enough vitamin C is an essential component to staying healthy, but many of may not know that we could be getting less benefit from it than we think. A new study just released by the University of Glasgow has made some interesting discovery linking vitamin C and fat.

According to the researchers the helpful effects of vitamin C, such as, cancer protection may be cancelled out if there is fat present in the stomach.

The researchers from the University of Glasgow in Scotland carried out a number of experiments to try and recreate the processes of a human stomach. During the study it was found that vitamin C had cancer fighting benefits. When observing vitamin C in a human stomach simulator it was seen to soak up compounds that are thought to cause cancers. The cancer causing compounds are created by the mixing of food, saliva and acid in the stomach, the ascorbic acid from the vitamin C soaks this up.

However, the interesting discovery came when the researchers added fat to the contents of the simulated stomach. When observing the fat in the stomach it was found that the ascorbic acid from the vitamin C no longer functioned as the antioxidant it had been acting as. It was found that the cancer-causing compounds were no longer getting soaked up and converted too non-damaging compounds.

This discovery has caused the researchers to come up with a theory linking diet and some stomach cancers. One of the team members working on the study, Emilie Combet, said, "Our results illustrate how diet can influence gastric biochemistry." Emilie Combet also said, "These results show that the presence of lipid can markedly alter the protective effects of antioxidants, and how a diet rich in fat can directly influence gastric biochemistry."

The main culprit for causing cancers in the stomach is nitrite. Nitrite reaches our stomach through saliva. When the saliva enters the stomach it is introduced to an acidic situation. This causes an instant reaction with the nitrate and stomach acids, which creates cancer causing compounds known as carcinogenic N-nitroscompounds. When the antioxidants from vitamin C are present they prevent this dangerous compound from doing any damage by changing it to nitric oxide. However, if fat is present in the stomach the protective reaction does not occur.

The World Cancer Research Fund paid for this study. The findings have highlighted the need to carry out more studies on the effects of fat on our digestive system and its functions.

The main point that this study has for the average person is that cancer is caused by a variety of factors and our diet is an important factor. Ensuring that we consume a healthy diet low in fat along with the recommended portions of fruit and vegetables will positively affect our long-term health.

Sources
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6510479.stm
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=66841
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=75465-vitamin-c-stomach-cancer-lipid