B Vitamins and Breast Cancer: Friend or Foe?
Larrian on March 19th, 2008 | Filed under Cancer, Supplements, Women's Health
Every now and then I come across a scientific paper that raises my eyebrows. In a study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition researchers tested the theory that low levels of B12, pyridoxal 5 phosphate and folic acid could result in damaged DNA and an increased risk of developing breast cancer. This was a particularly good study in that it didn’t rely upon “diaries” but rather looked at blood drawn from 848 cases of invasive breast cancer and 848 matched cases of women with no history of breast cancer - all of whom were 45 years of age or greater, from the Women’s Health Study.
The results surprised the researchers, which is unusual in the first case, since you design a study to give you the answer you already know ( much like lawyers asking questions in a lawsuit.) Their findings? None of these vitamins were associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer, which is the GOOD news, but increased levels of folic acid were associated with an increased risk of developing premenopausal estrogen and progesterone dependent breast cancer. Just when you thought this was strange, they reveal that pyridoxal 5 phosphate lowered the risk of developing POST menopausal breast cancer.
For years, doctors have been told that folic acid was THE SAFEST vitamin to take, and that megadoses were of no concern, as this was a water soluble vitamin, shedding any excess in urine. However, a previous study looking at colon cancer found that folic acid may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer and even colon cancer. So what gives?
Beats me too, however, when we see two hormone-dependent cancers share a common “unusual” finding, you can bet your bottom dollar there is a lot of hidden research already in Merck’s pharmaceutical profile, the source of folic acid. It’s interesting to note this company withdrew over-the-counter Metafolin, their super-derivative of folic acid last year,requiring it to be prescription only. So what should you do? If you are postmenopausal, take pyridoxal 5 phosphate 20-40mg a day. I would not take more than 800mcg of folic acid a day regardless of age ( and that means watching folic acid enriched cereals and grains.) Cancer is a complicated creature.
Copyright © 2008 HealthCrunchies.com | Website designed by Zenful Web Designs
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.