Study Finds High-Dose B Vitamins Have Protective Effect Against Air Pollution

Image: By Berserkerus (Photo) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

In further evidence that essential micronutrients are highly effective in protecting human health, a new study from the United States has found that high-dose B vitamins may “completely offset” the damage caused by the most dangerous type of air pollution. Published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal, the researchers showed that exposure to fine particulate matter of the type produced by burning fossil fuels in motor vehicles can be mitigated by a daily supplement of B vitamins. With such pollution being known to have significant adverse effects on human health, the finding has profound implications for public health policies worldwide.

The study followed 10 volunteers aged between 18 and 60 years old who were initially exposed to clean air and given placebo pills to check their basic responses. In the second phase of the trial they were given a further placebo for a period of four weeks, after which they were exposed to heavily polluted air from downtown Toronto. In the third phase, the volunteers were again exposed to the polluted air but this time were given a daily supplement containing 50 milligrams of vitamin B6, 2.5 milligrams of folic acid, and 1 milligram of vitamin B12.

Remarkably, the researchers found that the B vitamins reduced the genetic damage caused by exposure to fine particulate matter in the polluted air by between 28 and 76 percent. Moreover, a similar reduction in damage was noted in the DNA of the mitochondria, the energy-producing parts of the cells.

Time for governments to act in OUR interests

The World Health Organization estimates that 92 per cent of the world’s population currently live in places where air pollution exceeds safe limits. In 2012 around 6.5 million deaths (11.6 percent of all global deaths) are believed to have been associated with air pollution, nearly 90 percent of which were in low- and middle-income countries.

World Health Organization (WHO) map illustrating the parts of the world most affected by fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution. The darkest (reddest) colored areas are the ones worst affected. Source: WHO website

Ultimately, of course, while the finding that B vitamins are protective against air pollution is clearly a vitally important one, the fact remains that it isn’t a long-term solution. So long as the fossil fuel industry and its government stakeholders remain addicted to the use of outdated energies such as oil, gas and coal, human health will continue to be held to ransom and the lives of millions of innocent people will be brought to an end prematurely. It is therefore essential that mankind moves away from these polluting fuels and, on a planetary scale, replaces them with safe, renewable forms of energy generation.

This global changeover to non-polluting forms of energy will not happen overnight, however. Most likely, the process of eradicating fossil fuels will take decades. It is in this sense that the implications of the PNAS study are therefore most profound.

If you are the sort of person who believes that governments always act in the best interests of their citizens, you should be confident that this study’s discovery will soon be implemented into public health policies worldwide. Supplements of B vitamins will promptly be advised for everybody living in areas where air pollution occurs, and they will be provided free to anyone who can’t afford them. Unfortunately, however, past experience tells us that this is not what will happen.

For years now, governments around the world have been doing everything possible to undermine the scientific credibility of supplements and regulate their availability as tightly as possible. Acting as political stakeholders for the pharmaceutical industry, they know that if they fail to do this the trillion-dollar-a-year patented drug business will inevitably come to an end.

Today, however, with a safe and effective way of protecting against the most dangerous type of air pollution having been found, our governments are faced with a clear choice. Do they finally start to act in the health interests of their citizens, or do they continue to act in the financial interests of multinational pharma and energy companies and allow countless millions more deaths to occur that are already now preventable?

While only time will tell what happens, one thing is already for certain. Step by step, the scientific basis for a world in which health is available to all is becoming increasingly apparent. If enough of us stand up to be counted and share this information as widely as possible, we can immediately help to save millions of lives. There’s no time to lose, and the choice is ours.

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Paul Anthony Taylor

Executive Director of the Dr. Rath Health Foundation and one of the coauthors of our explosive book, “The Nazi Roots of the ‘Brussels EU'”, Paul is also our expert on the Codex Alimentarius Commission and has had eye-witness experience, as an official observer delegate, at its meetings.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Paul's background was in the music industry, where he worked as a keyboard player and programmer with artists including Paul McCartney, Bryan Ferry, Bill Withers, the Verve, Texas, and Primal Scream.

He first became interested in natural health after falling ill with a chronic fatigue syndrome-related disorder in 1991 and subsequently making a full recovery through the use of natural health therapies. After meeting Dr. Rath and Dr. Niedzwiecki at an anti-Codex rally in Berlin in 2002, Paul was inspired to make a life-changing decision to leave the music industry to work for the Foundation and help defend the right of patients worldwide to have free access to natural health approaches.

You can find Paul on Twitter at @paulanthtaylor

Der Executive Director der Dr. Rath Health Foundation ist einer der Koautoren des explosiven Buchs „Die Nazi-Wurzeln der Brüsseler EU“. Paul ist auch unser Experte zum Thema „Codex Alimentarius-Kommission“ und hat Augenzeugenerfahrung als offizieller beobachtender Teilnehmer bei diesen Treffen.

Bevor er seine Arbeit bei der Stiftung antrat war Paul in der Musikindustrie aktiv. Er arbeitete als Keyboard-Spieler und Programmierer mit Künstlern wie Paul McCartney, Bryan Ferry, Bill Withers, the Verve, Texas und Primal Scream.

Sein Interesse an natürlicher Gesundheit wuchs, als er 1991 an Störungen erkrankte, die aus einem chronischen Erschöpfungssyndrom resultierten. Durch natürliche Gesundheitstherapien wurde er schließlich vollständig geheilt. Ein Treffen 2002 mit Dr. Rath und Dr. Niedzwiecki bei einer Anti-Codex-Demonstration in Berlin inspirierte ihn zu einer lebensverändernden Entscheidung und er verließ die Musikindustrie um für die Stiftung zu arbeiten und das Recht der Patienten zu verteidigen, weltweit freien Zugang zu natürlichen Gesundheitsverfahren zu haben.

Auf Twitter ist Paul unter @paulanthtaylor zu finden.

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