Multivitamins, folate, and green leafy vegetables may reduce the risk of developing lung cancer in current and former smokers. Higher intakes of certain micronutrients may reduce a process called methylation which affects gene signaling. Many genes involved in critical cell functions, including cell division, are methylated in lung tumors, showing the potential of the micronutrients to reduce the risk of lung cancer, according to findings in Cancer Research and supported by the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.
It impressively shows, for example, that supplements containing beta-carotene, conceivably increasing the risk of lung cancer in heavy smokers when taken in extremely high doses over years, have the potential to reduce cancer risk even in smokers,” said researchers. "Additionally, the study is further evidence that nature-identical, synthetic micronutrients in multivitamins can be effective in disease risk reduction as micronutrients from vegetables and fruits.”
In the study, people who ate at least 12 servings of green leafy vegetables per month had a 17 per cent lower risk of methylation, while a daily folate intake of at least 750 micrograms was associated with a 16 per cent lower risk. Current multivitamin users had a 43 per cent lower risk of gene methylation.
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