Vit B6, asprin and colorectal cancer

From http://hsionline.com/
Dear Reader,

When I tuned in to NBC Nightly News the other night, anchor Brian Williams started off the broadcast on such a high dramatic note, I thought he might go operatic on us and start belting out his report in song.

Turns out, Brian was awestruck by aspirin, based on a new study that links aspirin with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

Of course, there's a catch or two -- a couple of details that sort of deflated Brian's opening aria.

First -- the study only included patients with Lynch syndrome, a condition that sharply increases colorectal cancer risk. So while aspirin may have protected some Lynch syndrome patients from colorectal cancer, those results can't be extrapolated to the general population.

Second -- subjects in the study received 600 mg of aspirin daily. And that's a long LONG way from the 81 mg low dose that's commonly recommended for heart benefits.

Those extra 519 mg per day would dramatically increase risk of stomach bleeding, heart attack, and stroke -- three known side effects caused by regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which includes aspirin.

So let's come back down to earth with this "breakthrough" research that does not offer the average person a reasonable way to help prevent colorectal cancer.

For that, we can simply turn to a vitamin supplement...

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Out of the ordinary
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Last year I told you about a Journal of the American Medical Association meta-analysis of 13 studies. Nine examined vitamin B6 intake, and four examined blood levels of PLP, the active form of B6. All the studies compared B6 status to cases of colorectal cancer.

This isn't the first time B6 has made an e-Alert appearance as a colorectal cancer fighter. In fact, some of these studies I've told you about are likely included in the JAMA analysis:

* A Harvard Medical School study showed that subjects with the highest B6 levels had a much lower risk of colorectal cancer compared to subjects with the lowest levels
* Tufts University research found that even a modest deficiency of key components in the B complex (including B6) increased colorectal cancer risk
* In a large study from Scotland's University of Edinburgh, high levels of B6 intake reduced colorectal cancer risk by more than 20 percent
* Another Harvard trial found colorectal cancer risk significantly reduced among subjects who had the highest dietary intake of folate and B6

In the new JAMA meta-analysis from Sweden's Karolinska Institute...well, you can see exactly where this is going: Higher B6 intake and blood PLP levels were linked to lower colorectal cancer risk -- and the higher the PLP levels, the stronger the link.

If lowering colorectal cancer risk was your only health concern, A) You'd be very lucky, and B) This JAMA summation of B6 research would be all the reason you'd need to make sure your daily intake was high.

But B6 is no ordinary vitamin.

Just a few years ago, John M. Ellis, M.D., put B6 on the map with a groundbreaking book titled "Vitamin B6 Therapy: Nature's Versatile Healer." In it, Dr. Ellis explains that PLP is a coenzyme that activates many crucial enzyme systems. In fact, nearly 120 enzymes need B6 to function properly, and 19 out of your body's 20 amino acids require B6.

That's why it's no surprise that B6 also plays a key role in many other health issues, including immune function, hormone function, and cognitive function, as well as the prevention of heart disease, depression, kidney stones, breast cancer, and prostate cancer.

Now...let's see aspirin try to do all that with zero risk of side effects.

Brian? Ready to sing?

Posted by How to Heal Cancer