Greater Vitamin C Intake Linked to Lower Cancer Risk

A comprehensive review that included 57 meta-analyses evaluating the association between vitamin C consumption and cancer found that higher intake of the vitamin was linked to a lower risk of many cancers, according to an article published in Frontiers in Nutrition.*

When digestive system cancers were evaluated, the highest intake of vitamin C, compared to the lowest, was associated with a 42% decrease in the risk of esophageal cancer, a 34% lower risk of stomach cancer and a 30% lower risk of pancreatic cancer.

Additionally, among individuals whose vitamin C intake was highest, lung cancer risk was 17% lower than in the group with the lowest intake.

Editor’s Note: "Vitamin C consumption was associated with lower incidence of…total cancer occurrence," the authors stated.

* Front Nutr. 2022 Jan 20;8:812394.

Vitamin D Supplementation Reduces Palliative Cancer Patients’ Need for Opioids

A reduced need for pain relief as well as less cancer-related fatigue were found in palliative cancer patients receiving supplemental vitamin D, compared to a placebo group, the journal Cancers reported.*

At the start of the double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled study, 244 cancer patients, all deficient in vitamin D, were given either high-dose vitamin D (4,000 IU/day) or a placebo for 12 weeks. Their opioid doses were assessed throughout the 12 weeks as a measurement of pain.

Those taking vitamin D had significantly lower increases in opioid doses during the study. This indicates a reduced need for pain relief. They also reported less cancer-related fatigue compared to the placebo group.

Editor’s Note: "Correction of vitamin D deficiency may have positive effects on pain and fatigue in palliative cancer patients," the researchers concluded.

* Cancers. 2021; 13 (15): 3707.

Higher CoQ10 Levels Benefit Older Folks

A study found greater physical capacity and a reduction in blood factors related to cardiovascular disease among participants with higher plasma levels of CoQ10, a factor in the production of energy within the mitochondria of the cells, according to an article in Antioxidants (Basel).*

Participants included men and women aged 65 and older, with a majority being women.

Higher CoQ10 levels were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk. Having greater levels of CoQ10 also correlated with better physical activity.

Authors suggest the combination of CoQ10 with physical activity as an important therapy for the prevention of sarcopenia and the maintenance of physical capacity.

Editor’s Note: "It is probable that supplementation with CoQ10 could improve physical capacity in addition to the known effects in the cardiovascular system. These relationships suggest that CoQ10 could be considered an important component for maintaining independence and health in aged individuals," the authors stated.

* Antioxidants (Basel). 2022 Jan 29;11(2):279.

Light to Moderate Coffee Drinking Can be Good for You

The European Journal of Preventive Cardiology published the largest observational study to date showing that drinking coffee was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and stroke.*

For 11 years, researchers tracked data from 468,629 individuals who did not have heart disease at the start of the study.

Compared to non-coffee drinkers, light-to-moderate drinkers (0.5-3 cups per day) were found to have 12% lower risk of all-cause mortality, 17% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and 21% reduction in the incidence of stroke.

Editor’s Note: The researchers concluded that, "This favorable impact might be partly explained by lower Arterial Stiffness Index and subclinical alterations in cardiac structure and function."

* Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2022 May 6;29(6): 982-991.