Vitamin B6 and methionine slash lung cancer risk by 50 percent

(NaturalNews) Lung cancer, which usually develops in the cells lining air passages, will be diagnosed in about 222,520 Americans this year, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In addition, the NCI says nearly half that many people -- about 157,300 -- will die from the disease in 2010.

Although lung cancer is notoriously difficult to treat successfully, French scientists have discovered several natural substances that offer substantial protection from the malignancy. In a huge study of almost 400,000 participants, those who had higher blood levels of vitamin B6 and the essential amino acid methionine (found in many forms of protein) had the lowest risk of lung cancer -- even those who were former or current smokers.

For the study, which was just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Paul Brennan, Ph.D., of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, and colleagues documented B vitamins and methionine levels based on serum samples from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort study. In all, they investigated 385,747 research subjects from 10 European countries. By 2006, 899 had been diagnosed with lung cancer; they were compared to 1,770 control participants and all were individually matched by country, sex, date of birth, and date of blood collection.

The results of the researchers' analysis revealed a dramatically lower risk for lung cancer among participants with the highest blood levels of B6 and methionine. In addition, a moderately lower risk for lung cancer in former and current smokers was observed in those with higher serum levels of folate.

"Similar and consistent decreases in risk were observed in never, former, and current smokers, indicating that results were not due to confounding (factors that can influence outcomes) by smoking. The magnitude of risk was also constant with increasing length of follow-up, indicating that the associations were not explained by preclinical disease," the researchers stated in their JAMA article.

50 percent reduction in lung cancer

"Our results suggest that above-median serum measures of both B6 and methionine, assessed on average five years prior to disease onset, are associated with a reduction of at least 50 percent on the risk of developing lung cancer. An additional association for serum levels of folate was present, that when combined with B6 and methionine, was associated with a two-thirds lower risk of lung cancer," the scientists wrote.

So how could these natural substances keep lung cancer at bay? The key may be found in previous research which has shown that B vitamin deficiencies likely increase the probability of DNA damage and subsequent gene mutations. "Given their involvement in maintaining DNA integrity and gene expression, these nutrients have a potentially important role in inhibiting cancer development, and offer the possibility of modifying cancer risk through dietary changes," the authors concluded. They also pointed out that B vitamin deficiencies are known to be high in many western populations.

Additional good news about lung protection was presented earlier this year at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference. Scientists have found eating a handful of pistachios daily may offer significant protection from lung cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/027732_p...).

For more information:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...
http://www.naturalnews.com/lung_can...
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/...

Green tea blocks lung cancer

(NaturalNews) Drinking at least a cup of green tea a day may significantly decrease a person's risk of lung cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers from Shan Medical University in Taiwan.

Cancer rates are significantly lower in Asia than in other parts of the world, and high consumption of green tea has been suggested as one of the potential explanations. Laboratory studies have suggested that the polyphenols in green tea can halt the growth of cancer cells, but the results of human studies have been mixed.

In the current study, researchers analyzed green tea consumption, smoking, genetic factors and lung cancer risk in more than 500 people. They found that among non-smokers, those who did not drink tea had five times the lung cancer risk of those who drank at least one cup per day. Among smokers, not drinking green tea was linked to 12 times the cancer risk of those who drank at least one cup per day.

A genetic analysis of all the study participants revealed that a specific variant of the gene known as IGF1 was associated with the correlation between higher tea consumption and lower cancer risk. Among those without this variant, green tea consumption had little effect on cancer risk. This could explain the inconsistent results of prior studies.

Health experts warned that whatever the benefits of green tea might be, they do not outweigh the danger posed by smoking.

"Smoking tobacco fills your lungs with around 80 cancer-causing chemicals," said Yinka Ebo of Cancer Research U.K. "Drinking green tea is not going to compensate for that. Unfortunately, it's not possible to make up for the harm caused by smoking by doing other things right like eating a healthy, balanced diet. The best thing a smoker can do to reduce their risk of lung cancer, and more than a dozen other cancer types, is to quit."

Sources for this story include: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8453628.stm.

Nutty news from scientists: pistachios reduce lung cancer risk

(NaturalNews) Researchers have reported over the past year that nuts offer a wide range of health benefits -- from helping fight the pre-diabetic condition known as metabolic syndrome (http://www.naturalnews.com/025098_n...) to preventing age-related blindness (http://www.naturalnews.com/026369_o...) and lowering breast cancer risk (http://www.naturalnews.com/026115_w...). Now there's even more good news about nuts. According to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference held in Houston recently, eating a handful of pistachios daily may protect you from lung cancer.

"It is known that vitamin E provides a degree of protection against certain forms of cancer. Higher intakes of gamma-tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E, may reduce the risk of lung cancer," Ladia M. Hernandez, a PhD candidate at Texas Women's University and a senior research dietitian in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, said in a statement to the press. "Pistachios are a good source of gamma-tocopherol. Eating them increases intake of gamma-tocopherol so pistachios may help to decrease lung cancer risk."

Pistachios have already been shown in previous studies to be a heart-healthy food. The nuts have a cholesterol-lowering effect and are loaded with immune system boosting antioxidants. Hernandez and her research team conducted a six-week, controlled clinical trial to investigate whether the consumption of pistachios would increase levels of gamma-tocopherol in the body.

Their study, which was at conducted at Texas Woman's University in Houston, involved 36 healthy research subjects. The participants were randomized into a control group and an intervention group. For two weeks, both groups ate their normal diets so the scientists could take baseline measurements. Then for four weeks the control group continued on their regular diet while the other study participants added 68 grams (about 2 ounces or 117 kernels) of pistachios to their diets each day.

By weeks three and four, the scientists found that the research subjects eating pistachios had significantly higher serum gamma-tocopherol levels, compared to their baseline measurements and the vitamin E levels measured in the control group not eating the nuts. This substantially increased amount of gamma-tocopherol in the body of pistachio eaters could help lower the risk of not only lung cancer but other malignancies, as well. "Because epidemiologic studies suggest gamma-tocopherol is protective against prostate cancer, pistachio intake may help," Hernandez said.

But what about the added calories? Hernandez explained the amount of pistachios needed to lower the risk of cancer isn't enough to pack on extra pounds. "Pistachios are one of those 'good-for-you' nuts, and two ounces per day could be incorporated into dietary strategies designed to reduce the risk of lung cancer without significant changes in body mass index," she stated.

For more information:
http://www.aacr.org/home/public--me...