Can Vitamin E Reduce the Risk of Liver Cancer?

Can Vitamin E Reduce the Risk of Liver Cancer?

Findings in the Journal of National Cancer Institute, indicate that Vitamin E may help reduce the risk of liver cancer. Vitamin E is an antioxidant, which can assist in preventing or reversing damage to DNA caused by cancer creating 'free radicals'. Vitamin E is found in many foods, also Superfoods such as spirulina, bee pollen, chlorella and barley grass powder - all especially rich sources.

While not as common as breast or lung cancer, liver cancer is still a major killer worldwide.

Some of the main risk factors are:

The Biggest risk factor for cancer of the liver are Chronic infections, such as Hepatitis B or C.

Men, curiously, are more prone to liver cancer than women.

Ethnic groups: Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest rates liver cancer.

Alcohol abuse may lead to cirrhosis of the liver, one of the biggest risk factors for cancer of the liver

Lessening the risks

Researchers from the Shanghai Cancer Institute, China, studied the effects vitamin C, vitamin E, and multivitamins had on liver cancer risk. The investigation involved 132,837 people. The women, as part of the Shanghai Women's Health Study, participated for eleven years, while the men took part for the men's health study over six years.

Researchers found that:

During the follow-up period, 267 people developed liver cancer.

The higher vitamin E intake either from diet, and or supplements, was correlated with a significantly lower risk of liver cancer in both men and women.

Multivitamin supplements and Vitamin C, were linked to a higher risk of liver cancer in people with liver disease, or liver cancer in the family. However, Vitamin C and other vitamins from dietary sources (ie. directly from food) did not appear to influence the chances of liver cancer.

"We found a clear, inverse dose-response relation between vitamin E intake and liver cancer risk," the authors stated.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, repairs and protects DNA from free radical damage, and boosts the immune system. Apart from fresh green leafy vegetables, an excellent source of vitamin E can be found in super foods, including barley grass powder, spirulina, bee pollen and chlorella.

Need for further research

These results that were published in research in 2012 are encouraging, but they will need to be repeated in additional controlled clinical trials. This type of research was observational, and that means the researchers had to rely on the participants' own reporting of their dietary and supplement intake routines, to gain conclusions. Results and conclusions made from observational studies are considered weaker and less reliable from those obtained by controlled trials.

(J Natl Cancer Inst 2012;DOI:10.1093/jnci/djs277)

You can find out more about vitamin E and super foods here, including organic spirulina and organic barley grass powder. Unique version for reprint here: Can Vitamin E Reduce the Risk of Liver Cancer?.