Vitamin B6 Acts Against Colon Cancer

June 14, 2005

Alcohol increases the risk of several types of cancer. This may be because alcohol disturbs certain essential metabolic processes. But vitamin B6 and folic acid appear to repair the damage caused by alcohol, thereby restoring those processes.

If you allow yourself 1-2 glasses of red wine a day, you probably prolong life and help yourself against arteriosclerosis. It is a known matter. At the same time, however, it increases the risk of breast cancer and colon cancer. It is also a known matter. Less well-known is that this disadvantage apparently can be eliminated with the B vitamins folic acid and vitamin B6. When alcohol is a cancer risk, it may be because alcohol interferes with the processes that the two vitamins are involved in.

By: Vitality Council

References:
1. Larsson SC, Giovannucci E, Wolk A. Vitamin B6 intake, alcohol consumption, and colorectal cancer: a longitudinal population-based cohort of women. Gastroenterology. 2005 Jun;128(7):1830-7.
2. Eunyoung Cho et al. Alcohol intake and colorectal cancer: A pooled analysis of 8 cohort studies. Annals of Internal Medicine 2004;140:603-13.

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