Have you ever wondered if there's a natural way to lower your high blood pressure,

guard against Alzheimer's, lose weight, feel better? Well, it turns out there is. Welcome to the

Nutrition Facts podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger. It may come as no surprise that what

we eat directly affects our chance of getting

skin cancer.

In our first story, we look at the best supplement for preventing skin cancer.

Nicotinamide, also known as niacinamine, there's a form of vitamin B3 that's been used

topably for decades in the cosmetic field to prevent skin aging,

so researchers decided to put it to the test orally for skin cancer prevention.

And a Petri dish, skin samples taken from breast reduction and tummy tuck surgeries

exposed to UV with or without niacinamine, found that it enhanced DNA repair.

Would this translate out and got less cancer?

In a phase two trial, dozens of individuals with four or more pre-cancerous actinic carotoses,

each were randomized to take a placebo or 500 milligrams of niacinamine once or twice a day.

Within two months, there was a 35 percent reduction in actinic carotoses in the twice-a-day group

and a 15% reduction in the once-a-day group compared to placebo.

It's not that they developed fewer in those months, but more spontaneously disappeared

in the niacinamide groups.

What about actual cancers?

By month four, there were five times fewer cancers.

Eleven placebo participants developed 20 new skin cancers versus only two

nine cyanide participants developing a total of four new cancers.

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