WITH tobacco smoke containing more than 7,000 chemicals and 71 known cancer-forming agents, it is not difficult to appreciate that DNA—the genetic factor of the body—can be modified under such influence. The result is cancer. This disease may appear in the mouth, throat, bladder, or blood (leukaemia).

Sometimes people have strong immune systems that protect them from developing cancer, but, sadly, that’s only some who perhaps are lucky.

What does a diet rich in Vitamin E foods, such as nuts, whole grains (whole wheat), and soybean oil, have in common? They can all help to lower the risk of lung and oral cancer among smokers by about 20 per cent, a new study says. In a study of more than 29,000 male smokers in Finland, researchers found that those with high blood levels of alpha-tocopherol, the main form of Vitamin E, reduced their risk of lung cancer by 19 to 23 per cent.

The benefits were most dramatic, the study found, among men under age 60 and among light smokers who had been using cigarettes for less than 40 to 50 per cent of their lifetime. But despite the encouraging findings, the most beneficial health action smokers can take is still the same: stop smoking.

I have to emphasise that not only for lung cancer, but for oral cancers, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, and a bunch of other cancers, stopping smoking is crucial. In the study, which lasted almost 8 years, researchers collected periodic blood samples to measure alpha-tocopherol levels, the most active form of Vitamin E in humans. The levels of alpha-tocopherol were then linked to health outcomes among men in the study. There were 1,144 cases of lung cancer diagnosed in the group during the study.

The lung cancer rate reduced among men with the highest levels of alpha-tocopherol, and the cancer protection was most pronounced among men with the shortest history of smoking who also had a high Vitamin E level. Although the new study involved only smokers and lung cancer, earlier studies have shown that healthy levels of Vitamin E give some protection against disease, stroke, and some other types of cancer, such as prostate cancer.

The proven benefits came only from a balanced diet that included food rich in Vitamin E, he said. The researchers concluded the effect of vitamin pills taken by some of the men in the study. In effect, the proven benefits of Vitamin E come from eating the right foods, not from popping vitamin pills.

Clearly, there is a need for more studies to compare supplements with natural dietary sources of Vitamin E. There are still uncertainties about the comparative value of vitamin pills versus nutrients absorbed naturally from foods. For instance, some studies have shown that beta-carotene, an antioxidant found in foods such as carrots, can help prevent some forms of cancer. Yet, when beta-carotene pills were given to a group of Finnish smokers, the rate of lung cancer increased by 16 per cent.

Vitamin E–rich foods include soybean oil and other seed oils, nuts—particularly almonds, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and walnuts—sunflower seeds, and whole grains, including wheat germ.