Vitamin C: Undercover Antibiotic? Stealth Cancer Treatment?

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I get to learn such interesting information researching and writing for this blog.  I do feel blessed.

So I ran across some references to studies showing the advantages of taking vitamin C with certain antibiotics.  And then there were a couple of references to combining vitamin C and doxycycline in treating cancer.  But is any of it true?  There are so many nut jobs out there making absurd claims on the internet.  I don’t wish to join their ranks.

Here are some of the more significant findings:

• A study involving the administration of vitamin C and ceftazidime (an antibiotic) at lower doses for a pseudomonas infection in rats revealed that the two worked synergistically to exert a more powerful effect.  The authors concluded that vitamin C should be routinely prescribed with antibiotics to treat bacterial infections.[1]
• Individuals with higher levels of vitamin C in their saliva had a lower incidence of dental cavities.[2]
• Vitamin C was demonstrated to be as effective as chlorhexidine in inhibiting oral bacterial growth.[3]
• Numerous studies have demonstrated that vitamin C inhibits the growth of the following microbes:
• Bacteria
• Gram-positive
• Bacillus cereus[4]
• Bacillus subtilis[5] [6]
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis[7]
• Staphylococcus aureus[8]
• Streptococcus mutans[9]
• Streptococcus pneumoniae[10]
• Streptococcus pyogenes[11]
• Gram-negative
• Campylobacter jejuni[12]
• Enterococcus faecalis[13]
• Helicobacter pylori[14]
• Fungi
• Aspergillus[15]
• Aspergillus niger[16]
• Aspergillus flavus[17]
• Candida albicans[18]
• One group of researchers found that of eight different bacteria studied, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was the most sensitive to vitamin C.[19]
• Vitamin C synergizes well with the following antibiotics:
• Ceftazidime[20]
• Ciprofloxacin[21] [22]
• Gentamicin[23] [24]
• Levofloxacin[25]
• Piperacillin[26]
• Vitamin C combined with doxycycline has been shown effective in killing cancer stem cells in the following types of cancer:
• DCIS carcinoma
• Breast (ER(+) and ER(-))carcinoma
• Ovarian carcinoma
• Prostate carcinoma
• Lung carcinoma
• Pancreatic carcinomas
• Melanoma
• Glioblastoma[27]

Having a good supply of vitamin C supplements was already a good idea.  Now it appears time to up the inventory.  Vitamin C is cheap, readily available, and has few or no side effects, even when taken in large doses (but under 10 grams per day). Often prescribed as a nutritional supplement, vitamin C also exerts significant antioxidant effects.

Research is still ongoing with likely many more exciting discoveries to be made.  While research shows that in most cases the dosage of the antibiotic and duration of therapy can be decreased, exact recommendations aren’t available because they’re still being researched.  Most recent research indicates that vitamin C should be regarded as a modifier of bacterial activity; basically, it works synergistically with antibiotics to reduce antibiotic resistance and potentiate the efficacy of antibiotics against bacteria.

To reiterate, vitamin C is not an antibiotic.  We can liken it to basketball—it passes, it assists, but it doesn’t score.  It does a whole lot of the work and gets zero credit.  Always hiding in the shadows.  It can make your antibiotics work better and/or extend the supply.  And we have wins all around.  Because it isn’t an antibiotic, we don’t need a prescription.  It’s over the counter and readily available to all.  We can easily stock up.  (Unfortunately, most of the world’s supply of vitamin C comes from China.  Sorry to have to remind you of that bit of sadness.)

Links to related posts:

Vitamin C Deficiency and Scurvy  

Doxycycline  

Ciprofloxacin  

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[1] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[2] https://www.proquest.com/openview/96e1b413b662c70750e5219f09fb221f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1176347

[3] https://www.proquest.com/openview/96e1b413b662c70750e5219f09fb221f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1176347

[4] https://journals.lww.com/jcsm/fulltext/2017/03020/antimicrobial_activity_of_vitamin_c_demonstrated.5.aspx#O3-5-6

[5] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7393720/

[6] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5748153/

[7] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[8] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[9] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7393720/

[10] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11278838/

[11] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[12] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[13] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[14] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[15] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[16] ttps://journals.lww.com/jcsm/fulltext/2017/03020/antimicrobial_activity_of_vitamin_c_demonstrated.5.aspx#O3-5-6

[17] ttps://journals.lww.com/jcsm/fulltext/2017/03020/antimicrobial_activity_of_vitamin_c_demonstrated.5.aspx#O3-5-6

[18] ttps://journals.lww.com/jcsm/fulltext/2017/03020/antimicrobial_activity_of_vitamin_c_demonstrated.5.aspx#O3-5-6

[19] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3698613/

[20] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[21] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[22] https://www.walshmedicalmedia.com/open-access/effect-of-levofloxacin-and-vitamin-c-on-bacterial-adherence-and-preformed-biofilm-on-urethral-catheter-surfaces-1948-5948.pdf

[23] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7393720/

[24] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[25] https://www.walshmedicalmedia.com/open-access/effect-of-levofloxacin-and-vitamin-c-on-bacterial-adherence-and-preformed-biofilm-on-urethral-catheter-surfaces-1948-5948.pdf

[26] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.847449/full

[27] https://www.oncotarget.com/article/18428/text/