Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is well known for its antioxidant properties, but not only. Vitamin C deficiency was associated with various forms of gastritis and studies on the link between vitamin C and gastritis highlighted an important role of this vitamin in protection of gastric mucosa .
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is known for its many biological functions: ascorbic acid is important for the proper functioning of the immune system and essential for collagen synthesis.
It is also an important antioxidant, that can reduce various oxidizing agents and inhibit formation of nitrosamines (many of which are carcinogens) in the stomach and intestine.
Vitamin C also appears to play an important role in the onset of gastritis and in its treatment.
The link between vitamin C, gastritis and peptic ulcer is by no means a new "scientific discovery ", but rather an old knowledge overshadowed by more recent scientific evidences resulting from the discovery of Helicobacter pylori.
In fact it has been in fact widely studied in the first half of the last century but most of the scientific literature pertaining to it has been lost, replaced by new studies.
Vitamin C deficiency was associated with all forms of gastritis (e.g., autoimmune, chemical, infectious gastritis) and that would be due in part to insufficient intake, in part to increased metabolic demand and partly to destruction of vitamin C within the gastrointestinal tract.
A diet rich in naturally occurring vitamin C ( ascorbic acid) can have protective effect against gastric corpus atrophy and gastric cancer.
How ? By reducing oxidative damage to the gastric mucosa by scavenging carcinogenic compounds and free radicals, but also by attenuating the inflammatory cascade induced by infectious agents such as Helicobacter pylori.
Furthermore, considering pharmacologic doses of vitamin C, they may improve the effectiveness of Helicobacter pylori-eradication therapy.
Given that vitamin C is a molecule with multiple properties, it is useful to remember, whether or not you suffer from gastritis, the richest food sources of vitamin C: guava, currants , peppers, kiwi , cauliflower and cruciferous vegetables , lettuce, strawberries , oranges, lemons , tomatoes , etc. . ) .
This is an example of how, even in the field of science, it is important the quote “Never forget the past…”.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22543844
Dig Dis Sci. 2012 Oct;57(10):2504-15. Epub 2012 Apr 28.
Vitamin C, gastritis, and gastric disease: a historical review and update.Abstract
Aditi A, Graham DY Departments of Medicine, Washington University School of
Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acido_ascorbico
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