It seems that the risk of developing lung cancer is reduced if people have a high rate of vitamin B6 and methionine in their blood. This was revealed during a study at the International Centre for Research on Cancer (IARC).
The journal JAMA reports that a higher level of vitamin B6 and methionine reduces the risk of developing lung cancer among both smokers and nonsmokers by more than 50%.
For this study, researchers compared data from 900 cancer patients and 1770 healthy people. The patients had levels of vitamin B6 and methionine that were significantly lower than the healthy participants.
Furthermore, they add that a high intake of vitamin B9 also reduces the risk of developing the disease.
Vitamin B6 is found primarily in fish, meat, potatoes and whole grains. Methionine is present in nuts, grains, fish and some meats, while vitamin B9 is abundant in fruits and vegetables.