According to a new study in mice (led by Zhenhua Liu from Tufts University), moderate deficiency of folate, riboflavin, and vitamins B6 and B12 together may promote the risk of DNA damage and increase the risk of colorectal cancers.
The researchers, led by Zhenhua Liu from Tufts University, studied the Wnt pathway – a cellular signalling pathway linked to more than 85 per cent of colon cancers – and found that mild depletion of all four B vitamins was needed to promote the risk of tumour formation.
Previously, studies have suggested that folate deficiency alone may promote the risk of colorectal cancer. …read more

Found in green leafy vegetables, chick peas and lentils – folate – is already known to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTD) (most commonly spina bifida and anencephaly) in infants when taken in the first trimester of pregnancy.
This association has led to increased fortification of folic acid (the synthetic counterpart of folate) in various food products.
Now, a low folate diet may increase the risk of developing liver cancer, according to a study based in China –suggesting additional potential of folic acid fortification.
As reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention:
”…low folate levels may be linked to liver …read more

While folic acid supplementation may reduce the risk of stroke, it does not reduce the risk of colorectal cancers (but could even possible increase the risk of some types of colorectal cancers) even though previous studies have suggested that folate supplementation may help prevent colorectal cancers.
[Err, folic acid is synthetic while folate is the natural form!]
This new finding has been the result of a trial conducted at nine clinical centers in the U.S. and Canada between July 1994 and October 2004 that included 1,021 men and women with a recent history of colorectal adenomas but no previous large intestine cancerous …read more