How You Can Protect Yourself from Cancer
Vitamin D and selenium supplements will protect you against age-related cancers.
A new epigenetic related research study published on December 6, 2012 sheds more light upon DNA methylation. These researchers concluded that high blood plasma folate levels and obesity increased your risk for age-related colorectal cancer; whereas high blood selenium and vitamin D blood levels reduces it.
Findings of this Landmark Study
Folate is a global plant-based food negative.
Selenium supplementation rises to the level of our secondary age-related cancer strategy.
It is the position of the Natural Health Perspective that this study's primary revelation is that it finally answers the folic acid supplementation controversy. Prior research studies have reported that folic acid supplements promote cancer. According to this study in Cell Aging, Folic Acid is NOT the villain. In other words, the problem is NOT folic acid versus the folate form in supplements. It was found by the researchers in this study that plasma folate from all sources - whether from diet, juicing, or supplementation - promotes colorectal cancer.
More precisely, folate in your healthy foods exhibits a J-Curve relationship of moderation to your total health risk which is pretty mathematically complex. You should really add an age parameter, as well as separate total health risk into separate heart and cancer risk parameters which would result in a four dimensional relationship to your health.
Since the entire basis of natural health rests upon the belief that eating a healthy plant-based diet is key to good health, everyone might as well accept the fact that aberrant DNA methylation produced from high plasma Folate levels is a natural part of the aging process.
While it is important for young adults to consume large amounts of folate from food during their childbearing years, later in life everyone should dramatically cut back on folic acid supplementation. Folic acid supplements are dirt-cheap, and ubiquitous to multi-vitamins and other supplement combinations. In other words, for those 40-years-old, or older, folic acid supplementation should be avoided, as much as possible.
DNA Methylation and Cancer
"DNA methylation appears to be part of the normal aging process and occurs in genes involved in cell development."[Xu 2014]
This aberrant DNA methylation problem that increases the risk of age-related cancer adversely affects more men, than women.
The good news is that this study strongly suggests that the adverse effects of folate in your food on age-related cancers can be counteracted by supplementation with vitamin D and its anti-cancer cofactor, selenium. In other words, while high blood plasma folate levels turn the bad cancer causing genes on through epigenetic mechanisms, high blood selenium and vitamin D blood levels have the effect of switching these same genes off.
Brazil nuts, whole grains, sardines, and sunflower seeds are the foods highest in selenium.
In conclusion, it is the position of the Natural Health Perspective that those 40-years-old, or older, should avoid all avoidable sources of folate. In the real world, what improves your health is gray rather than black and white. Obviously, you cannot avoid the folate naturally contained in produce. Nor, is everything about folate a food negative.
What you can do to reduce your risk of cancer is avoid taking folic acid supplements and processed foods that have been fortified with folic acid, as much as possible.
In addition, everyone should be supplementing with vitamin D-3. Men, and those eating a poor diet, should seriously consider taking selenium. Eating one raw Brazil nut a week, is a realistic food-based alternative to selenium supplementation.
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References:
- Nutritional factors and gender influence age-related DNA methylation in the human rectal mucosa.
Tapp HS, Commane DM, Bradburn DM, ...
Aging Cell. 2012 Nov 15. doi: 10.1111/acel.12030. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 23157586 - Genome-wide
age-related DNA methylation changes in blood and other
tissues relate to histone modification, expression and
cancer.
Xu Z, Taylor JA.
Carcinogenesis. 2014 Feb;35(2):356-64. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgt391. Epub 2013 Nov 28.
PMID: 24287154
