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Abby's Magazine - September / October 2014 | Page 39 Bruce Ames, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Center, University of California at Berkeley, is about to publish a new cancer study. "It shows that the children of men who smoke and who don't consume much folic acid (one of the B vitamins) or vitamin C, important nutrients for repairing DNA damaged by oxidation, have a 50 percent increase in childhood cancers compared to the control group," says David Jones, MD, and CEO of the Institute of Functional Medicine in Gig Harbor, Washington. "We have incredible reparative processes but they are absolutely dependent on the nutrients being there that are co-factors in that repair," says Dr. Jones. "That's why vitamin C and folate in this particular situation were found to be critical." In terms of breast cancer, "It's been shown very clearly that what hormone you take in replacement is not nearly as important as what your liver does in terms of metabolism," says Dr. Jones. You have to get your B vitamins, he notes. "By including in the diet foods rich in cruciferous vegetables along with adequate vitamin supplementation, folate, B-6, B-12, you enhance the metabolism to a benign specie of estrogen metabolite that is then excreted. If those things are insufficient in the diet then they are detoxified into metabolites that have been shown in human epidemiological studies to cause breast cancer." He refers to a study published in the Journal of Endocrinology (150:S259-S265, 1996). In other words, the B vitamins help your liver eliminate toxins that can otherwise raise your breast cancer risk. Research Continues Scientific studies of antioxidants are ongoing. "Every week we learn something new," says Dr. Labriola. "Almost without exception these studies are positive in terms of the benefits of good nutrition and this includes nutritional supplementation." In April 2000, the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences increased the recommended daily amounts of certain antioxidant micronutrients. Balz Frei, professor and director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, says, however, the board didn't go far enough. "These levels are once again about what it takes to prevent deficiency symptoms, not the amounts that could clearly help us in the fight against cancer, heart disease, stroke and other chronic health problems." Both clinical and epidemiological studies by numerous researchers provide a wealth of evidence, Frei says, that higher levels of dietary antioxidants could help in the battle against the biggest health threats in America. Approximately 40 micronutrients are required in the human diet. Deficiency of B-6, B-12, folic acid, niacin, C, E, iron or zinc appears to mimic radiation in damaging DNA. Micronutrient deficiency may explain why the quarter of the population that eats the fewest fruits and vegetables has approximately double the cancer rate for most types of cancer when compared to the quarter with the highest intake (Toxicology Letters 1998 Dec 28; 102- 103:5-18, BN Ames University of California Berkeley). Rich In Vegetables A diet rich in fruits and vegetables will probably provide ample vitamin C and other antioxidants, OSU researchers said, along with fiber, phytochemicals, and micronutrients. "We strongly support an intake of five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day," says Frei. Unfortunately, in the real world where people think of French fries and ketchup as vegetables, that type of diet is rare. In fact, according to Frei, 80 percent of American children and adolescents and 68 percent of adults do not eat five portions a day. But even if people do eat what they should, it still may not be enough. "A couple of recent studies show that the food that is being produced now has half the nutrients it used to," says Dr. Labriola. "It's best if you could get all your nutrition from foods but supplemental nutrition is important. Adding nutrients is a worthwhile endeavor." 'Tis an endeavor devoutly to be wished for a lower cancer risk.