New research examines how antioxidants may influence the risk of cancers linked to digestion.
Vitamin C may do more than support the immune system. It could also help block chemical reactions in the stomach that are linked to cancer risk.
New mathematical modeling from the University of Waterloo suggests the vitamin may help explain why decades of research on nitrates, nitrites, and cancer have produced conflicting results.
Nitrates and nitrites are common in the North American diet, appearing in cured meats as well as in fruits and vegetables grown in polluted soil or water.
Although these compounds play useful roles in neurological and cardiovascular health, they can react in the stomach through a process called nitrosation, creating substances that many scientists suspect may contribute to cancer development. The new study indicates that Vitamin C could interfere with this process, potentially reducing the formation of harmful compounds after a meal.
“Since at least the 90s, researchers have been studying the link between cancer and these compounds, with conflicting results,” said Dr. Gordon McNicol, a postdoctoral researcher in applied mathematics and the first author of the study. “Our work suggests that the presence of dietary Vitamin C may help explain these inconsistencies.”
Vitamin C may interrupt nitrosation
To trace these reactions through digestion, the researchers created a mathematical model representing the salivary glands, stomach, small intestine, and plasma. They then simulated how nitrates and nitrites travel through the body and change over time.
The results suggested that consuming Vitamin C alongside nitrates may reduce the formation of potentially harmful compounds. Leafy vegetables such as spinach naturally contain both Vitamin C and nitrate, and the model indicated that this combination could lower cancer risk.
The simulations also suggested that taking a Vitamin C supplement after each meal could moderately reduce the formation of nitrosation products associated with cancer risk from dietary nitrates and nitrites, including those found in bacon and salami.
The model guides future experiments
The researchers hope the findings will help shape future clinical and laboratory studies of nutrition and cancer risk.
“This work provides a mechanistic roadmap for future clinical and laboratory studies by identifying the key interacting drivers of these potentially harmful chemical reactions, including nitrite exposure, antioxidant intake, meal timing, gastric conditions and oral microbiome activity,” said Dr. Anita Layton, professor of applied mathematics and Canada 150 researcher chair. “This model can help researchers design more targeted experiments and interventions, focusing on when and in whom nitrosation is most likely to occur.”
Reference: “Vitamin C as a nitrosation inhibitor: A modelling study across dietary patterns and water quality” by Gordon R. McNicol, Nandita B. Basu and Anita T. Layton, 12 April 2026, Journal of Theoretical Biology.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2026.112444
This work was supported by an NSERC Discovery Grant (RGPIN-2025-03958) awarded to ATL, and by funding to NBB from Environment and Climate Change Canada (Solutionscapes), the NSERC Alliance program, and as the Canada Research Chair in Global Water Sustainability and Ecohydrology.
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