Interesting that a drug and supplement -- aspirin and vitamin E -- proved not to decrease cancer, based on separate studies in today's Journal of the American Medical Association (free links below).
Using data from the landmark Women's Health Study of some 40,000 women (older than age 44), researchers compared the effect of aspirin (100 mg), vitamin E (600 IU) and a placebo on various diseases over a decade.
Overall, there was no cancer benefit at all in taking vitamin E. And, the one benefit found with taking low-dose aspirin -- a reduction in lung cancer deaths -- could have been the result of chance, the lead researcher said. In fact, the use of aspirin and vitamin E may have overshadowed better and underused ways to reduce one's cancer risk based on some simple lifestyle changes, according to the American Cancer Society.
However, those steps merely reduce your cancer odds by 62 percent. If you want to virtually eliminate your cancer risk, I urge you to read my recent piece outlining the 12 steps you can act on today!
As far as vitamin E is concerned, if you eat a healthy diet there is a very limited need for supplements, and that includes vitamin E, in its many forms. The best food sources of vitamin E include raw nuts and seeds, and leafy green vegetables, foods I recommend as part of my Total Health Program.
USA Today July 6, 2005
Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 294, No. 1, July 6, 2005: 47-55 Free Full Text Article
Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 294, No. 1, July 6, 2005: 56-65