June 22, 2010 – Certain group B vitamins are believed to have a protective effect against lung cancer. This is what the results of a large study indicate1 conducted in 10 European countries, with 2,669 participants2 followed for a period varying from 6 years to 14 years.
For each of the subjects, blood samples taken at the start of the study were available. The researchers analyzed these samples to measure the levels of group B vitamins. They also analyzed certain substances that result from the metabolic activity of these vitamins, in particular methionine, a sulfur-containing amino acid that is formed in the body under l action of vitamin B12 (cobalamin).
According to the results, high blood levels of methionine resulted in a 52% reduction in the risk of developing lung cancer, regardless of whether you are a smoker, an ex-smoker or a person who has never smoked. .
In participants with the highest levels of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), the risk of developing lung cancer fell 44% compared to those with the lowest vitamin B6 levels. The risk reduction was of this magnitude in both smokers and non-smokers.
Researchers also report that high blood levels of vitamin B9 (folic acid) were associated with a similar reduction in risk, mainly in smokers and ex-smokers, but not necessarily in people who have never smoked.
The authors point out, however, that these results can in no way justify smoking since, in the entire initial cohort of 520,000 subjects, the incidence of lung cancer was 0.6% in men without never smoked (0.7% in women), compared to 4.5% in ex-smokers (2.4% in ex-smokers) and 15.6% in smokers (10% in smokers) .
Scientists believe that these B vitamins help protect against cancer due to their action in various complex mechanisms on the cellular level: they help protect the integrity of the DNA of cells against mutations giving rise to cancer. .
In food
Pharmacist Jean-Yves Dionne believes that the results of the study confirm what we already suspected about vitamin B6. “A diet rich in vitamin B6 provides very real protection against cancer. A 44% reduction in the risk of contracting lung cancer is more than enough to be convinced, ”he says. He recalls that this same vitamin also seems to protect against colorectal cancer.
“A good diet, rich in vitamins B6, B9 and B12 should be sufficient to reach the blood levels required to confer the protection observed in this study”, he specifies.
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For the best food sources, check out our list of nutrients: vitamin B6, vitamin B9, vitamin B12. |
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
1. Johansson M, Relton C, et al. Serum B vitamin levels and risk of lung cancer. JAMA. 2010 Jun 16; 303 (23): 2377-85.
2. The researchers started with a cohort of nearly 520,000 healthy adults. Of these, 899 cases of lung cancer were diagnosed during the follow-up period. The researchers compared these cancer patients to 1,770 controls chosen from among the participants who were still in good health at the end of the study, so as to obtain 2 equivalent and comparable groups in terms of their country of origin, their sex and their age. .
