Benefits of Vitamins

To help stack your deck against cancer, consider stocking your diet with more of the foods listed in this section. Don't just add them to what you're already eating, though, unless you're trying to gain weight. Cut back on fatty foods, sugary foods that don't provide many nutrients, and other foods discussed later in this article. Instead, replace them with more foods filled with the potential cancer fighters such as the vitamins discussed below.

Beta-Carotene: Bad News and Good News

For a short time, beta-carotene, a form of vitamin A, was a star among supplements. There was good reason, too -- solid research suggested that beta-carotene could lower cancer risk. 

Best Beta Sources
If you are looking to increase your intake of beta-carotene, include more of the following foods in your diet.

Apricots, fresh or dried; apricot nectar
Broccoli
Cantaloupe
Carrots, carrot juice
Grapefruit, red or pink
Greens, collard or mustard
Kale
Mango
Peppers, sweet red
Persimmon
Pumpkin
Spinach
Squash, winter
Sweet potato
Swiss chard

Vitamin manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon and began replacing all the vitamin A in their pills with beta-carotene, until results from a study called CARET (Beta-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial) brought things to a screeching halt. This landmark study, published in 1996, tested synthetic beta-carotene and vitamin A supplements in people at high risk for lung cancer -- smokers, former smokers, and asbestos-industry workers. The study was quickly discontinued when it became clear that those taking beta-carotene supplements (about 30 milligrams a day) actually had a higher rate of lung cancer and higher mortality rate than those taking a placebo (an inert pill).

Nevertheless, beta-carotene's action as an antioxidant can significantly slow or prevent oxidative damage in the body that can increase the risk of certain types of cancer, including oral cancers and tumors of the stomach, breast, cervix, uterus, prostate, and colon.

Because vitamin A can be toxic in large doses, the emphasis is on getting it from fruits and vegetables, where it is primarily found in the form of beta-carotene, and not from supplements of vitamin A.

Other carotenoids, especially lutein and lycopene, may be protective, too, but they have not been studied as well, and information on their content in foods is somewhat limited.

Vitamin C Vindicated

Researchers are still arguing over vitamin C and colds. But vitamin C may offer protection against lots of other conditions, including cancer.

A diet high in vitamin C has been strongly linked to a lower risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, stomach, and pancreas. Weaker data exist for cancers of the breast, cervix, and rectum. However, it's hard to separate the effects of vitamin C from those of beta-carotene, because many fruits and vegetables are rich in both. 

Best Sources of Vitamin C
Eating more of the following foods will add more vitamin-C to your diet.

Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cantaloupe
Cauliflower
Greens, cooking (collard, mustard, or turnip)
Kale
Kiwi Fruit
Mango Papaya
Peppers, sweet, green or red
Potato, white or sweet
Strawberries
Tomato, tomato juice

In fact, studies show it may be the combination of the two that's important, which is yet another reason to get your antioxidants from foods rather than supplements whenever possible. Indeed, the few studies in which vitamin C was provided by supplement have not shown any cancer-fighting benefits.

Optimism Over E

Research appears to support vitamin E's contribution to cutting the risk of some types of cancers. The evidence is strongest for prostate cancer, where vitamin E, along with selenium, seems to offer protection. Other links include a possible reduction in the risk of cancers of the stomach and lung and perhaps of the bladder, colon, and rectum.

But vitamin E is unique. While its merit as an antioxidant is accepted by many scientists, it only appears to be of value when consumed in amounts far greater than what you can get from foods. Because vitamin E is fat soluble, the foods richest in it tend to be high in fat -- such as vegetable oils, sunflower seeds, nuts, and wheat germ -- so it's not a very practical nutrient to seek out in large amounts in the diet. Otherwise, you may find yourself overloading on calories.

What to do? As a start, be sure to eat lots of whole grains, fortified cereals, leafy greens, and fish to obtain a baseline level of E. To boost your intake into the potentially cancer-fighting range -- about 100 International Units (IU) daily -- without overdosing on fat, however, you would need to add a supplement. (Many studies are conducted using 800 IU, but there's evidence to show you don't need this much to gain benefits.) Although many experts are optimistic about vitamin E's possibilities, they have stopped short of recommending such a supplement until further research is done. Certainly, at this point, if you are considering a vitamin E supplement, discuss it with your health care professional first.

Vitamins aren't the only beneficial assets in preventing cancer. In the next section, we will look at the minerals and fiber that also have certain risk-reducing properties.

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.