ReThink Pink

As the pink madness of the October 2009 programming winds down, because today is October 31, I am pleased to provide readers with this very good article from an MD with an open mind.

As more and more doctors and other health professionals start to get the idea that mammogram really isn't good for health or breast cancer screening, sanity will creep slowly back into women's health care.

A Closer Look at Screening Mammography

Until then, become your own best health advocate.

Breast Self-Exam is Important

I'm a bit taken by the latest propaganda from cancer and breast cancer groups, the media folks and others in the attempt to down play the importance of Breast Self Examination (BSE).

Of course along with the negative information given out lately about BSE there is always some need to tell you to you get more cumulative, breast-cancer-causing radiation exposure with your annual screening mammogram.

I was happy though to hear that a member of Congress, Debbie Wasserman Schultz from Florida, making a strong point in favor of BSE. She found her own cancer this way.

I urge you, and to young women especially, to read more here, learn about BSE, and include it in your personal care routines every month.

And remember Breast Thermography: For Earliest Detection and Intervention

Women Denied Truth On Breast Cancer Testing
By Sarah Boseley

Women must be told the full truth about breast screening, which may in some cases expose them to surgery and radiotherapy more damaging than the early cancerous tissue it detects, argues a controversial paper in the British Medical Journal today.

The paper says women are being patronised by being denied the proper information on which to make their decision to be screened or not. "The question of whether the benefits of screening outweigh the harms is essentially a value judgment. The problem is that, up to now, this judgment has been made by paternalistic agents of the state rather than by women," the authors say.

While deaths from breast cancer have dropped since screening began, there is no unambiguous data as to what part screening has played alongside the improvements in cancer treatment that took place over the same period.

The number of cancers has risen in recent years, but few realise that this is because screening is detecting them at a very early stage, when cells have just begun to undergo cancerous changes, say Hazel Thornton of Leicester University's department of epidemiology and public health, Adrian Edwards of the University of Wales department of primary care and Michael Baum, professor of surgery at University College, London, who helped set up the screening programme in 1987-8 but is now a consistent critic.

A fifth of the cancers now detected are ductal carcinoma in situ - where cells inside the milk ducts have begun to turn into cancer cells. This disease, the authors write, "has an uncertain natural course and those women who have heard of it find it hard to understand, as do many doctors; it is an early stage of disease that results in a 40% mastectomy rate". Women are faced with a difficult decision: whether to undergo surgery or wait and see whether cancer develops.

Women invited for NHS screening are not told, the paper says, that the US preventive task force found that 1,224 women aged 40 to 74 needed to be screened for 14 years to prevent one death from breast cancer.

"These are pertinent facts for a woman to know when attempting to decide how to manage her risk. The [US] researchers concluded that the age at which the trade-off between benefit and harm becomes acceptable 'is a subjective judgment that cannot be answered on scientific grounds'."

There are tensions between the drive to get as many women screened as possible and promoting real informed choice among women, say the authors. "Most women who are screened have neither suffered nor been educated about the reality of the uncertainties, harms and limitations of screening or the consequences of finding pathology of borderline importance."

Women want balanced information, they say. "Although some doctors may be concerned about admitting scientific uncertainty, honesty can enhance patients' respect for the profession.

A paper in the Lancet today says that women whose ductal carcinoma in situ is detected should undergo radiotherapy after the tissue is removed. Scientists from Cancer Research UK and the medical research council say trials have shown that radiotherapy reduces the chance of recurrence by 60%, while the cancer drug tamoxifen cuts it by only 10%.

SocietyGuardian.co.uk © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003

Another Indication That Women Aren't Getting the Facts

Please note that this report was filed three years ago and it is only one indication that more likely than not women haven't been provided with this important information.

More about Vitamin D can be found here and you may contact us for Vitamin D testing too.

And considering that Vitamin D3 and Vitamin C can be useful in attacking breast cancer, in prevention, and also for fighting against the flu, it may be worth you while to act proactively for your health.

We believe that the level of vitamin D should be more than the 32 noted in the second article in this post.

ScienceDaily (Oct. 17, 2006) — Vitamin D may help curb breast cancer progression, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology.

The authors, from Imperial College London, measured the levels of vitamin D in the blood serum of 279 women with invasive breast cancer. The disease was in its early stages in 204 of the women, and advanced in the remaining 75.

The results showed that women with early stage disease had significantly higher levels of vitamin D (15 to 184 mmol/litre) than the women in the advanced stages of the disease (16 to 146 mmol/litre).

The authors say that the exact reasons for the disparity are not clear, nor is it known whether the lowered levels of vitamin D among those with advanced disease are a cause or a consequence of the cancer itself. However, the researchers' results, taken together with results from previous studies, lead them to believe that lowered levels of vitamin D may promote the progression of the disease to its advanced stages.

Laboratory studies have shown that vitamin D stops cancer cells from dividing and enhances cancer cell death. Vitamin D sufficiency and exposure to sunlight has been shown to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. The body produces its own vitamin D in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight. The vitamin is also found in certain foods, including eggs and fatty fish.

It is known that vitamin D treatment boosts the activity of certain key genes and dampens it down in others. One that is boosted is p21, which has an important role in controlling the cell cycle.

Dr Carlo Palmieri, from the department of cancer medicine at Imperial College London and lead author on the paper, said: "This report, while being an observational study, clearly shows that circulating vitamin D levels are lower in advanced breast cancer as compared to early breast cancer. It lends support to the idea that vitamin D has a role in the progression of breast cancer.

"The next step in this research is to try and understand the potential causes and mechanisms underlying these differences and the precise consequences at a molecular level. We also need to look at the potential clinical implications of monitoring and maintaining high circulating vitamin D levels in breast cancer patients. By answering these questions we may be able to improve the treatment of women with breast cancer," he added.

Adapted from materials provided by Imperial College London.
Imperial College London (2006, October 17). New Study Gives Further Hope That Vitamin D Can Fight Breast Cancer. ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2006/10/061017084854.htm

Now we have yet another study reporting much the same information three years later. If you have breast cancer, has anyone suggested that you get the proper test for Vitamin D and encourage you to use it? Please let us know.

Women With Breast Cancer Have Low Vitamin D Levels
ScienceDaily (Oct. 10, 2009) — Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fractures, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

In a study of 166 women undergoing treatment for breast cancer, nearly 70 percent had low levels of vitamin D in their blood, according to a study being presented Thursday, Oct. 8, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Breast Cancer Symposium in San Francisco. The analysis showed women with late-stage disease and non-Caucasian women had even lower levels.

"Vitamin D is essential to maintaining bone health, and women with breast cancer have accelerated bone loss due to the nature of hormone therapy and chemotherapy. It's important for women and their doctors to work together to boost their vitamin D intake," said Luke Peppone, Ph.D., research assistant professor of Radiation Oncology, at Rochester's James P. Wilmot Cancer Center. He is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Community Clinical Oncology Program research base in Rochester.

Scientists funded by the NCI analyzed vitamin D levels in each woman, and the average level was 27 nanograms per milliliter; more than two-thirds of the women had vitamin deficiency. Weekly supplementation with high doses of vitamin D -- 50,000 international units or more -- improved the levels, according to Peppone's study.

The U.S. Institute of Medicine suggests that blood levels nearing 32 nanograms per milliliter are adequate.

This problem is not unexpected, Peppone said, because previous studies have shown that nearly half of all men and women are deficient in the nutrient, with vitamin D levels below 32 nanograms per milliliter. Vitamin D, obtained from milk, fortified cereals and exposure to sunlight, is well known to play an essential role in cell growth, in boosting the body's immune system and in strengthening bones.

Symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency include muscle pain, weak bones/fractures, low energy and fatigue, lowered immunity, symptoms of depression and mood swings, and sleep irregularities, many of which are common for women undergoing breast cancer treatment.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Rochester Medical Center.
University of Rochester Medical Center (2009, October 10). Women With Breast Cancer Have Low Vitamin D Levels. ScienceDaily.
http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2009/10/091009090431.htm

An Important History of Cancer Politics

This article is a long one but it provides insight into how methods that truly cured cancer have been sidetracked by the politics in mainstream medicine over the decades.

Bringing this to light certainly can provide you with some fuel to question your medical provider about cancer care.

It is so very sad that the system we have in the US today is so totally focused on profit, regardless of the sector.

Thoughts On Breast Cancer Awareness Monthby Lawrence Broxmeyer, MD

Question Authority and Breast Screening

Since 2005 I have posted 45 articles on Natural Health News regarding the risks and hazards of mammogram.

For more than 20 years I have been questioning mammogram and educating people about the known facts that mammogram does not statistically improve discovery, treatment and or cure of breast cancer, and in deed, increases the incidence.

All of this has been known for more than 50 years.

Just this week I sent a message to the Inland NW contingent of the Komen Foundation who are gearing up for another "Race for the Cure". My message was the same: "Why aren't you providing women with the facts about mammogram?"

I also asked why there is no information about thermography, a better screening test with earlier detection and no risk of increasing rates of breast cancer.

You can get the information you need from our non-profit organization with a donation. We do not get any greatly needed donations from pink lids.

Even the local media outlets have refused my efforts over many years, although more then five years ago, one did give some coverage to my concerns.

Women who are most at risk of developing breast cancer deserve better.

CHI's Healthy Handout on Risks of Mammography is available with a donation.

Breast Cancer: To Screen Or Not To Screen?

ScienceDaily (2009-04-04) -- Women are often told that mammography saves lives. But rarely is the question asked, "how often?" Researchers set out to examine how often this life-saving event occurs. ... > read full article

Women's Health Month and Propaganda

During March our organization sponsors a class for women called "What Your Doctor Won't Tell You".

This has always been very popular and we educate more women every year on this facts of the breast cancer scam and other very specific issues for women's health.

The major reason we have sponsored this program is to help women learn how to be better advocates for their health and not fall prey to substandard health care.

We also do not wish for you to be subjected to forced mammogram, which has been proposed under universal health care. You have rights, you need to be informed, and you need choices.

One of the "Healthy Handouts" we publish is a fact sheet on mammography. It is very important to understand why mammogram is a factor in the increased rates of breast cancer, as is a cell phone, WIFI, and Yoplait.

You can get a copy of this Healthy Handout by making a donation to our parent organization, Creating Health Institute, at PayPal.

In the interim we hope you will consider more about thermography.

We hope too that you will visit our colleague at Thermomed, especially good if you are located in the SoCal area.

Women need to take back the night on their own health and not fall prey to the purveyors of radiation, chemo, and other cancer promoting modalities.

Estrogen in moisturizers may worsen breast cancer

UPDATE: December 19
This report totally overlooks the effect of these chemicals on women's health. It looks as if all women effected by breast cancer need to write their representatives in Congress, and the EPA.

Hormones Should Be Analyzed Together
Scientists to EPA: Risks of Chemicals That Alter Male Hormones Should Be Analyzed Together Concluding that nearly everybody is exposed to a mix of chemicals that could be damaging male reproductive health, a national panel of scientists on Thursday advised the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to shift its focus and group them together when judging how much of a danger they pose.

I have referred more than once to the preeminent work of Judi Vance and her 1990s book, "Beauty to Die For". This work began the trail of others that has slowly come forward to report on the very same concerns - there are toxic chemicals in health and beauty products (HABA).

Now the information is coming from the medical establishment.

Even so-called 'natural brands' sold in health stores contain some of these questionable ingredients. And again I encourage you to read labels. Even if the FDA approved a single ingredient they do not test or approve mixtures of ingredients, and this is one place where problems start.

The UV blocking, sun screen type products are also a risk, as most contain endocrine disrupting chemicals.

It is never too late, but perhaps consider all the damage that might have been prevented had people listened to what Judi had to say over 10 years ago.

Another concern is that most of the mass market products act more like a barrier. This continues your purchasing cycle rather than provide you with a product that truly acts to heal dry skin.

The products I have used for a long time now are the result of over twenty years of research and development to achieve real results. If you are looking for organic products I highly recommend Kettle Care.

Breast cancer patients who apply moisturizers may be dosing themselves with estrogen...
By Jill Stein, Reuters - December 15, 2008

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters Health) - Breast cancer patients who apply moisturizers may be dosing themselves with estrogen without even knowing it, investigators reported at a breast cancer symposium in San Antonio.

Dr. Adrienne Olson, with Breastlink in Hawthorne, California, and colleagues analyzed 16 widely available moisturizers for estrogen-like compounds.

None of the creams analyzed noted any estrogen content in their list of ingredients. Even so, six samples contained estriol or estrone.

Olson, who is a seven-year breast cancer survivor, explained that estrogens applied to the skin are more efficiently absorbed into the body than estrogens taken orally.

She urged women with breast cancer that is driven by estrogen (that is, estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer) to avoid externally applied estrogen to minimize the risk of a recurrence.

Women without breast cancer are also at risk, she added. If they use estrogen-containing topical moisturizers, they may be dosing themselves daily with estrogen for extended periods, thereby boosting their risk of breast cancer.

Suzanne M. Snedeker, PhD at Cornell University has a very informative page on estrogens in cosmetics.

Another resource is the Cosmetics Data Base

From My Print Media Series for 12.08, Health Matters©: Natural Notes on Health
Select Recipes Courtesy: StarWest Botanicals
Natural Notes on Health:Winter Skin Care

About 15 years ago I met a woman from Canada that spent over a decade researching the cosmetic industry. She published her book in the early 1990s and subsequently moved because of the number of threats she got because she was exposing this $10 billion industry.

Just in the last few years there are several groups that have raised the issue that Judi Vance first addressed in the 1980s that led to her book, “Beauty to Die For”.

Another friend and colleague of mine has made natural cosmetics now for 25 years. I always sold or recommended her products to my clients and many other people. Her business is now certified organic and she grows many of the herbs and plants that she uses in her products.

Another thing to consider is that even prescription creams, lotions and shampoos for contain a number of ingredients that are untested in combination or may be skin irritants or carcinogenic.

Once it gets colder, drier and windier during the winter months skin takes quite a beating. Probably the most common complaint during these months is dry skin, but it can be prevented with natural products and supplements.

The best way to protect against dry skin is to make sure you have an adequate intake of vitamin A along with vitamins D and E. These are three of the four fat soluble vitamins and this means that you need to ingest healthy fats like butter, olive oil or coconut oil to help the vitamins absorb so they can do their job.

An option you have as well is to make some products on your own.

The good part about making your own natural skin care products is that you control what goes into them and they are free of artificial chemicals. What you make is luxurious and can even be fragrance free.

You reduce waste too because you don’t have to deal with excess packaging.

An easy lip balm can be made as follows:
Please note that most vitamin E capsules are made from synthetic ingredients like GMO soy oil. It is best to use natural vitamin E and this oil is readily available, even in high potency.

If you flavor your lip balm make sure you choose natural flavors as well. Fragrance oils are most often synthetic and made from petroleum and use chemical flavoring.
Use raw or uncooked and unprocessed honey, and olive oil sold in glass bottles. Shea Butter can be used with the bees wax.

2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp. honey
3/4 tsp. beeswax - grated
1/2 tsp. pure cocoa butter
Flavored oil of your choice
1 vitamin E capsule

In a small saucepan, heat oil, honey, wax and cocoa butter over low heat until just melted. Remove from heat and cool for 2-3 minutes. Stir in flavoring and contents of vitamin E capsule. Pour into container.
Anti-aging Dry Skin Moisturizer

4 ounces Shea butter
2 ounces organic olive oil
2 teaspoons organic vitamin E oil, 5000 IU
1 teaspoon active royal jelly
6 drops organic lavender essential oil

Blend ingredients on high until smooth and creamy. Store refrigerated in an airtight container. It is necessary to make this in small amounts and keep refrigerated because of the active royal jelly. This is an awesome ingredient for its healing properties and well worth the effort.

Super Simple Moisturizer
For your hair: Mix one ripe avocado with 2 TBSP raw honey and blend well. Apply to hair for 20-30 minutes, and then wash as usual (you might want to think about using natural hair care products to avoid the chemicals in most shampoos and conditioners).
For your skin: Blend 1/4 cup Aloe vera gel and 2 TBSP vegetable glycerin, of each. You can also add 3 drops of pure essential oil or add 1/2 teaspoon of active royal jelly for anti aging effects.

For your nails: Blend 2 ounces of pure Palma Cristi castor oil with 10 drops of organic lavender essential oil. Massage into nails and cuticles. This also helps reduce or eliminate nail fungus.

I have made my own skin care oil blend for many years using vitamin E oil, rose hips oil and jojoba oil. Rose hips are very high in vitamin C while jojoba oil is good to protect from the effects of aging as is vitamin E. This blend is high in anti-oxidants and lubricates the skin while not being greasy. I find that the fragrance of the oils is very pleasant and I don’t add anything extra.

Jeanne Rose has a wonderful book that I relied on in my hippie days and while raising my children. I suggest it might be available from your library or favorite used book store.

You can order all supplies from the botanical link found on our blog, at www.naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com.

And while a commercial product, I recommend Aura Glow for bath oil or after showering. This is an Edgar Cayce remedy and is available under the Heritage Store brand.

Copyright © 2008 TOC. All rights reserved.

Are Hidden Hormones Destroying Your Health?Health News By VRP Staff
The FDA calls them safe—but you’d be right to think twice.

Synthetic hormones saturate your daily environment—many of them lurking in the meat and milk products you’ve been consuming now for years. And they can come at a very steep price. In fact, if you’re having trouble losing weight, struggling with metabolic syndrome, or battling prostate or breast cancer despite having no family history of the disease, then you may already be paying the price.

The truth is, a lot of today’s modern health crises can be traced back to estrogen. It’s a potent hormone—and its effects can go both ways.

That’s because your body metabolizes estrogen into several different byproducts, including 2-hydroxy, 4-hydroxy, and 16 hydroxy estrogens. Two out of the three—4-hydroxy and 16-hydroxy estrogens—can pose some very serious threats to your health. Research has linked heightened levels of these inflammation-promoting estrogens to breast, cervix and prostate cancers—and to stubborn obesity that can eventually lead to metabolic syndrome and diabetes.1-2

On the contrary, high levels of 2-hydroxy estrogens—or “good estrogens” as they’re sometimes called—have quite the opposite effect, serving to lower telltale PSA levels and protect vulnerable tissue in the prostate, cervix, and breast from cancerous developments.3

Whether the estrogen in your body hurts or helps you is entirely dependent upon how your body uses it—and fortunately, a natural phytonutrient called diindolylmethane (DIM) can ensure that it’s used properly. It’s a potent antioxidant found in cruciferous vegetables, and research shows that it can suppress the macrophage activity that sparks the inflammatory cascade of hormones and cytokines.4-5 It also helps your body to metabolize and remove toxic inflammatory pollutants—thereby reducing these chemicals’ role in disease-promoting inflammation.

Most importantly, DIM has a direct effect on estrogen metabolism, yielding a much higher level of protective 2-hydroxy estrogens.6-7 Not only does this stave off deadly cancerous developments, but it also contributes to weight loss in humans and animals—preventing obesity and metabolic syndrome.8-9 As an added benefit, it also helps to preserve levels of tryptophan, the “feel good” hormone responsible for serotonin production—which is in turn responsible for better moods and appetite control.10-11

DIM is an insoluble indole, meaning that it’s difficult for your body to absorb—but a pure, microencapsulated form of the product insures maximum bioavailablity.12 And that means vital protection against the emerging—and potentially deadly—threat of environmental estrogens.

(High quality DIM products may be ordered from Natural Health News professional partners, with profits going to support this blog and our other avtivities. Please contact us for ordering information or other product information.)
References:

1. Coffey DS. Similarities of prostate and breast cancer: Evolution, diet, and estrogens. Urology. 2001 Apr;57(4 Suppl 1):31-8.

2. Schneider J, Bradlow HL, Strain G, Levin J, Anderson K, Fishman J. Effects of obesity on estradiol metabolism: decreased formation of nonuterotropic metabolites. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1983 May;56(5):973-8.

3. Le HT, Schaldach CM, Firestone GL, Bjeldanes LF. Plant-derived 3,3’-Diindolylmethane is a strong androgen antagonist in human prostate cancer cells. J Biol Chem. 2003 Jun 6;278(23):21136-45.

4. Cho HJ, Seon MR, Lee YM, Kim J, Kim JK, Kim SG, Park JH. 3,3’-Diindolylmethane suppresses the inflammatory response to lipopolysaccharide in murine macrophages. J Nutr. 2008 Jan;138(1):17-23.

5. Harman-Boehm I, Blüher M, Redel H, Sion-Vardy N, Ovadia S, Avinoach E, Shai I, Klöting N, Stumvoll M, Bashan N, Rudich A. Macrophage infiltration into omental versus subcutaneous fat across different populations: effect of regional adiposity and the comorbidities of obesity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Jun;92(6):2240-7.

6. Zeligs MA. Diet and estrogen status: the cruciferous connection. J Medicinal Foods. 1998;1:67 82.

7. Dalessandri, KM, Firestone GL, Fitch MD, Bradlow HL, Bjeldanes LF. Pilot study: effect of 3,3’-diindolylmethane supplements on urinary hormone metabolites in postmenopausal women with a history of early-stage breast cancer. Nutr Cancer. 2004;50(2):161-7.

8. Ackerman GE, et al., Potentiation of epinephrine-induced lipolysis by catechol estrogens and their methoxy derivatives, Endocrinology. 1981;109:2084-8.

9. Zeligs MA. Phytochemicals for promoting weight loss. US Patent #6,534,085, 2003, March.

10. Brandacher G, Hoeller E, Fuchs D, Weiss HG. Chronic immune activation underlies morbid obesity: is IDO a key player? Curr Drug Metab. 2007 Apr;8(3):289-95.

11. Cangiano C, Ceci F, Cascino A, Del Ben M, Laviano A, Muscaritoli M, Antonucci F, Rossi-Fanelli F. Eating behavior and adherence to dietary prescriptions in obese adult subjects treated with 5-hydroxytryptophan. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992 Nov;56(5):863-7.

12. Zeligs MA and Jacobs IC. Compositions and methods of adjusting steroid hormone metabolism through phytochemicals. US Patent #6,086,915. 2000, July.

I Must Be In B Vitamin Heaven

I recall vividly the many times I accompanied my father to AMA Conventions while growing up. I am sure now it was a part of his plan to make sure I was brainwashed enough to go to med school and follow along his path.

At one convention, in Atlantic City, when I was about eleven years old, I brought home a treasured back scratcher (an advertising tool from Dome Chemicals, Inc. - ala Merck, Sharp and Dome in the old days) and a shot glass from Phospho-Soda (a shot glass was pretty important in this circle because of all the cocktail parties, especially good for a child with a proctologist father).

I still have these treasures and the memories.

Medicine in those days was less frenzied and treatments were more straight forward and simpler.

And certainly vitamins were not looked upon as voodoo.

Even B12 shots were a regular occurrence and no one needed a blood test to decide if you could get them. Of course now the blood test used - really to get a billable charge and avoid acting outside standards of care - is not the correct test. Remember you can't get hurt by B12 shots but if your provider demands a test it is the INTRACELLULAR B12 that is required.

And - for women only - the correct form and correct dose of injectable B12 can lower your blood pressure.

Pretty much, natural thyroid and B12 were very good at keeping aging folks from dementia, and no one flapped an eyelash over it.

I use B Complex daily and in a food form. I give the same to my animals and we all use organic nutritional yeast which is a fermented product. I think the aroma is to die for, it is such a heavenly aroma that wafts from the container when I open it in the morning at at dinner time.

I certainly am sure I get doses well beyond the fallacy of the RDA, but them I'm more of a follower of nutrition and orthomolecular health models so I'm not frightened that water soluble vitamins will harm me in any way.

I sort of look at the Big Pharma approach to make you think they are on top of things when B3 is added to a dangerous cholesterol drug as odd. Why don't they just admit that the whole cholesterol lowering thing is a scam. B3 does just fine to lower cholesterol on its own, and much less expensively.

I made the mistake of turning on to orthomolecular medicine when I began working in psychiatry as an RN in the early 1970s. With people like Carl C. Pfeiffer, Abrahm Hoffer and Melvin Werbach (all MDs) educating me along the way, added to to great integrated nutrition I had while studying nursing in college, I was way ahead of the pack.

Now after all these years we see maybe the first wave of a turning tide. The AMA reports that B vitamins are good to help older women prevent breast cancer.

Will wonders never cease.....

B vitamins may protect elderly women from cancerDecember 2008

Daily supplementation with B vitamins may reduce the risk of breast cancer and other invasive cancers in women over the age of 65. That’s what a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has to say.

Over 5,000 women at a high risk of cardiovascular disease took part in the study, which investigated the effects of a daily supplement of folic acid, vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12 on cancer risk.

“If the finding [that cancer risk in women over 65 is decreased] is real and substantiated, the results may have public health significance because the incidence rates of cancer are high in elderly persons. The finding is biologically plausible because elderly individuals have increased requirements for these B vitamins,” wrote lead author Shumin Zhang from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Folate, vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12 are thought to play an important role in cancer prevention. This is because the vitamins play an important role in maintaining the integrity of DNA and regulating gene expression, both critical processes in healthy cell function.

Another positive to take from the results is that they appear to support the safety of B vitamins, and particularly folic acid. Since 1998 the U.S. has required mandatory fortification of all grain products with folic acid—the synthetic, bioavailable form of folate—in order to reduce the incidence of neural tube defects—most commonly spina bifida and anencephaly.

Zhang and co-workers looked at the risk of cancer and B-vitamin consumption among the 5,442 participants (average age 62.8) of the Women’s Antioxidant and Folic Acid Cardiovascular Study. The women either had cardiovascular disease or three or more coronary risk factors.

Over the course of 7.3 years, half of the women received a daily supplement of folic acid (2.5 mg), vitamin B-6 (50 mg) and vitamin B-12 (1 mg), while the other half of the women received a placebo. The study began in 1998—the same year as mandatory folic acid fortification was introduced in the U.S.

During the study, 379 cases of invasive cancer were diagnosed—187 in the B-vitamin group and 192 in the placebo group. No differences were seen in the risk of developing total invasive cancer or breast cancer, when the participants were viewed in their entirety. However, in women over the age of 65 the supplementation was associated with significant 25% and 38% reductions in the risk of invasive and breast cancer, respectively.

Journal of the American Medical Association 300(17):2012-2021, 2008