Hi Everybody,
VITAMINS CUT RISK OF LUNG CANCER IN HALF- In the past, we really haven’t reported every study that has shown the benefits of vitamins, but recently the media has jumped on a few studies backed by the pharmaceutical companies that claim vitamins are bad for you. For that reason, we are including a study on vitamins and lung cancer this week.
A recent study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA. 2010 Jun 16;303(23):2377-85) which found that certain vitamins are linked with a 50% reduction in the occurrance of lung cancer, even in smokers. The study found that higher levels of the vitamin B6, methionine and folic acid in the blood stream were linked with a 50% or greater reduction in the occurrence of lung cancer.
According to the authors of the study, these effects were large, so the results are highly significant. The fact that the vitamins helped whether the persons were smokers or not was also highly significant. The mode of action seems to be that B vitamins evidently have an influence in preventing defects in DNA which can cause cancer.
MEDIA COVERAGE?- We’ve all seen the studies the media saying that vitamins were bad for you. How many of you saw this study on vitamins decreasing lung cancer in the media? Most of you have probably never heard of it, even though the results were posted in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association.
The problem these days is that the Golden Rule seems to apply almost absolutely – those with the gold are the ones that make the rules. Please know though that studies showing the beneficial effects of vitamins on the body are performed on a regular basis in Universities. But these studies, untainted by Pharmaceutical money, rarely make it into the media.
There is a long list of studies just on B vitamins showing that they can help to prevent many types of cancer, like breast, prostate and colo-rectal.
REFERENCES- For you scientifically minded people out there, the following is a very short list of just a few of the studies performed and published in major medical journals showing the benefits of B vitamins in various health problems, but you probably never heard about because they never made it to the media.
1. Johansson M, Relton C, Ueland PM, et al. Serum B vitamin levels and risk of lung cancer. JAMA. 2010 Jun 16;303(23):2377-85.
2. Xu X, Chen J. One-carbon metabolism and breast cancer: an epidemiological perspective. J Genet Genomics. 2009;36: 203-214.
3. Larsson SC, Orsini N, Wolk A. Vitamin B6 and risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. JAMA. 2010;303:1077-1083.
4. Ames BN. Prevention of mutation, cancer, and other age-associated diseases by optimizing micronutrient intake. J Nucleic Acids. 2010 Sep 22;2010. pii: 725071.
5. Mason JB. Unraveling the complex relationship between folate and cancer risk. Biofactors. 2011 Jul;37(4):253-60.
6. Giovannucci E. Epidemiologic studies of folate and colorectal neoplasia: a review. J Nutr. 2002;132(Suppl):S2350-S2355.
7. Mursu J, Robien K, Harnack LJ, Park K, Jacobs DR Jr. Dietary supplements and mortality rate in older women. The Iowa Women’s Health Study. Arch Intern Med 2011. 171(18):1625-1633.
8. Pfister R, Sharp SJ, Luben R, et al. Plasma vitamin C predicts incident heart failure in men and women in European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Norfolk prospective study. Am Heart J. 2011 Aug;162(2):246-53.
9. Harding AH, Wareham NJ, Bingham SA, et al. Plasma vitamin C level, fruit and vegetable consumption, and the risk of new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus: the European prospective investigation of cancer–Norfolk prospective study. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Jul 28;168(14):1493-9.
10. Solomon AJ. Multiple sclerosis and vitamin D. Neurology. 2011 Oct 25;77(17):e99-e100.
11. Selhub J, Troen A, Rosenberg IH. B vitamins and the aging brain. Nutr Rev. 2010 Dec;68 Suppl 2:S112-8.
Hope this helps,
Dr Matt and Dr Robin
http://barneschiropractic.wordpress.com (newsletter archives)
This week’s bit of Useless Information: In Indiana, it is illegal to ride public transportation for at least 30 minutes after eating garlic.