Dear Health-conscious Friend,

Tell your fathers, sons, brothers, husbands and uncles...Prostate cancer survival may be significantly longer among men who have the highest intake of this common vitamin.

Jenny Thompson tells us about it today...

In the name of good health,

Taryn Strugnell
Managing Editor of Nutrition & Healing

P.S. Every week Health Bytes brings you the latest breakthrough information regarding supplements and their doses. But how do you really know what the units mean and how they’re measured? Dr Wright explains…

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Help prevent prostate cancer, take this vitamin daily...
Jenny Thompson
Publisher of Health Sciences Institute

Research suggests that B vitamins might have a preventive influence on the development and progression of prostate cancer.

A team from the Harvard School of Public Health and Sweden's Karolinska Institute investigated this link by assessing the dietary habits of 525 men with prostate cancer. They compared the survival over a period of 20 years to the intake of four B vitamins (folate, riboflavin, B6 and B12) and methionine, an amino acid that plays a key role in regulating folate.

In comparison, the results show that men with the highest intake of B6 are significantly more likely to survive an extra two decades than those with the lowest intake of the vitamin. There was no link between the other nutrients and longer survival time.

Most importantly, men with the best survival records were those who had localised-stage prostate cancer at the outset of the study and also had the highest B6 intake. In other words, high levels of vitamin B6 are most effective when the cancer has recently been diagnosed and hasn’t spread beyond the prostate.

The men who had the highest intake averaged 2.2 to 2.9mg of B6 daily. This is about twice the recommended intake.

In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the Harvard/ Karolinska team notes that more research is necessary before it recommends to men at risk of developing prostate cancer increase their B6 intake.

Of course, that's what they’ll keep saying until they receive confirmation of their results. There have been several trials that have linked B6 intake with reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

In addition, research shows B6 can mollify the way the prostate responds to testosterone – a hormone that prostate cancer feeds on.

And finally, your body puts B6 to use in activating nearly 120 enzymes and 19 amino acids – all of which are necessary for DNA repair and general good health.

Bananas and chicken breasts have particularly high levels of vitamin B6. Red meat, fish, beans, fruits, vegetables and leafy greens are also good sources.

HSI Panelist, Dr Allan Spreen, recommends 100mg of B6 daily, along with other B vitamins, of course, and magnesium. Dr. Spreen says: "B6 is definitely more effective in the company of magnesium."

Talk to your doctor before supplementing with magnesium or vitamin B6.

Find out more about natural tips and advice on cancer treatments

The universal language of measuring nutrients

Q: I've noticed that you recommend supplements in both milligrams and IU. What's the difference? Can I convert one measure to the other?

Dr. Wright: IU stands for "international unit". An IU is the amount of a particular substance required to produce a certain biological effect.

Unlike milligrams and other units of measure, the potency of the nutrient is the base of the IU measurement, so 1 IU of vitamin E is not the same as 1 IU of vitamin A. And since each substance's IU value is different, it's impossible to have a single equation that will convert IUs into another measurement, such as milligrams.

All substances that we measure in international units have an official definition by the International Conference for Unification of Formulae.

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