Vitamin B6 Reduces Colon Cancer

[Guest guest]

Just to be clear, the National Academy of Sciences Institute of

Medicine says that the No Observed Adverse Effect (NOAEL) for vitamin

B6 is 200 mg/day - safe when used long-term, with the Lowest Observed

Adverse Effect Level (LOAEL) being 500 mg/day. The LOAEL is defined as

a dose where toxicity may be seen when this dose is used long-term

" rarely, but for some sensitive sub-groups it does occur. "

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, October 21, 2008

Vitamin B6 Reduces Colon Cancer

Intake is Often " Inadequate " Even When it Exceeds the RDA

(OMNS, October 21, 2008) A study of almost 5,000 persons has shown

that consuming more vitamin B6 means less colon cancer. (1) The

researchers described the connection as " moderately strong. " Any

nutrient that has a " moderately strong " influence on reducing colon

cancer risk is very important indeed. Almost 150,000 Americans are

annually diagnosed with colon cancer; nearly 55,000 die every single

year. Other authors, reviewing previous studies, have said the same

thing: B6 substantially reduces colon cancer risk. (2,3)

Many of us are not getting nearly enough B6 from our diets. The

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (May, 2008) published a study

of nearly 8,000 people showing that B6 inadequacy is common throughout

the United States. " Across the study population, " the authors said,

" we noticed participants with inadequate vitamin B6 status even though

they reported consuming more than the Recommended Daily Allowance of

vitamin B6, which is less than 2 milligrams per day. " Three out of

four women using oral contraceptives are vitamin B6 deficient, unless

they also take vitamin B6 supplements. Smokers and the elderly are

also especially likely to be at risk. Remarkably, even among people

who take B6 supplements, one in ten is still B6 deficient. (4)

This indicates that we might better take more B6. But many won't. This

is because the public has been warned off of supplementing with this

vitamin. So irrational is this fear that, at one point, a so-called

" Safe Upper Limit " for daily B6 intake was set at only 10 mg. (6) That

was only about six times the US RDA/DRI. Who set such a " limit " ? Not

the voters, that's for sure. An unelected committee did it, one

created by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine's

Food and Nutrition Board. (5) They have, in a manner of speaking,

recently admitted that they were wrong. The " Safe Upper Limit " is now

100 mg.

That is more like it, but still too low. Alan Gaby, M.D., in reviewing

B6 toxicity, wrote that adverse effects from B6 (pyridoxine) were

occurring in people taking " 2,000 mg/day or more of pyridoxine,

although some were taking only 500 mg/day. There is a single case

report of a neuropathy occurring in a person taking 200 mg/day of

pyridoxine, but the reliability of that case report is unclear. The

individual in question was never examined, but was merely interviewed

by telephone after responding to a local television report that

publicized pyridoxine-induced neuropathy. " Dr Gaby adds that there

have been no reports of B6 side effects at under 200 mg/day. (6)

Modern processed, low-nutrient diets are not providing anything close

to 200 milligrams. In fact, they typically provide less that 1% of

that amount. You can get some B-6 from food, if you really like to eat

whole grains, seeds and organ meats. A goodly slice of beef liver

contains a whopping 1.2 mg of B-6. Chicken liver is only 0.6 mg per

serving, and most other foods contain less. Avocados (0.5 mg each) and

bananas (0.7 mg each) lead the pyridoxine league for fruits. Potatoes

(0.7 mg each) and nuts (especially filberts, peanuts and walnuts) are

fairly good vegetable sources.

But people are not eating nuts, seeds, vegetables, and liver. What

they are eating is way too many nutrient-poor junk foods. Our diets

are low in B6, yet B6 reduces risk of colon cancer. Clearly

supplementation is the way to go.

References:

(1) Theodoratou E, Farrington SM, Tenesa A et al. Dietary vitamin B6

intake and the risk of colorectal cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers

Prev. 2008 Jan;17(1):171-82.

(2) Matsubara K, Komatsu S, Oka T, Kato N. Vitamin B6-mediated

suppression of colon tumorigenesis, cell proliferation, and

angiogenesis (review). J Nutr Biochem. 2003 May;14(5):246-50. See

also: Komatsu S, Yanaka N, Matsubara K, Kato N. Antitumor effect of

vitamin B6 and its mechanisms. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2003 Apr

11;1647(1-2):127-30. " Epidemiological studies have reported an inverse

association between vitamin B(6) intake and colon cancer risk. "

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12686121

(3) Zhang SM et al. Folate, vitamin B6, multivitamin supplements, and

colorectal cancer risk in women. Am J Epidemiol. 2006 January 15;

163(2): 108-115.

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/163/2/108 .

(4) MS, Picciano MF, Jacques PF, Selhub J. Plasma pyridoxal

5'-phosphate in the US population: the National Health and Nutrition

Examination Survey, 2003-2004. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 May;87(5):1446-54.

See also:

http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2008_05.htm#Vitamin-B6-RDA-questioned

(5) http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3788/3971.aspx

(6) Gaby AR. " Safe Upper Limits " for nutritional supplements: one

giant step backward. J Orthomolecular Med, 2003, Vol 18, No 3 & 4, p

126-130.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_243/ai_109946551 and

http://www.iahf.com/20040127.html