Open Letter to Peter R. Kann Chairman. Wallstreet Journal 200 Liberty Street New York, NY,10281 Dear Mr. Kann
The Vitamin C Foundation is a non-profit organization that collects and disseminates scientific information about ascorbic acid, vitamin C. We have become concerned by the many unfounded reports in recent months attacking the value of antioxidant vitamins, especially vitamin C. This month, the Wall Street Journal seemed to add its voice to this attack.
While most intelligent people regard the Wall Street Journal as an excellent source of news and business information with high journalistic standards and integrity, the slant of a recent Journal article on vitamin supplements and cancer by Wall Street Journal correspondent Marilyn Chase caught our attention. Ms. Chase uses a narrow finding, in this case, a study showing that antioxidants may interfere with certain cancer chemotherapy's, to draw support for more general conclusions about antioxidants vitamins and cancer. Our problem with this article is that it only offers one side. (An other side would have pointed out that chemotherapy and radiation are not always effective or appropriate treatment options.) Ms. Chase completely ignored the value of antioxidants in cancer prevention.
Ralph Lotz, a Foundation advisor notes: "Since most conventional cancer treatments are quite toxic it stands to reason that some nutrients may interfere with their role as cancer fighters. When a poison is introduced into the body, enzyme systems will attempt to neutralize it. The idea behind chemotherapy is to kill off as many of the cancer cells as possible before the therapy's toxicity kills you. Some doctors recommend not using nutritional supplements until after the course of chemotherapy has been completed. Then supplements are aggressively added for much needed repair." Readers with cancer who rely on Ms. Chase's article would be unaware of the value of supplements after their chemotherapy.
You may direct your readers to The Vitamin C Foundation web site at www.vitamincfoundation.org. We have posted more than 63 abstracts on vitamin C and cancer. In other words, these reports are not anecdotal evidence; they are peer reviewed journal articles and constitute an overview of the scientific evidence. Scientists have looked into the role of vitamin C in cancer prevention, with most finding statistically significant effects. Protective effects have been shown for cancers of the pancreas, oral cavity, stomach, esophagus, cervix, rectum, breast, and lung.
As publisher, perhaps you can enlighten us? We have observed a great many mostly truthful, yet misleading health articles, that have made the news in recent months. These articles cloud the issues and appear to be deliberately designed to confuse the public. We'd very much like to understand why it is so easy to get these stories published? At the same time, one rarely sees important stories of antioxidant benefit in the regular media. For example, vitamin C's potential role in the fight against antibiotic resistant bacteria (Science December 1997; 278: 2061c-2063c. ), or a recent study on lead contamination at the University of California at San Francisco that was published in a recent (1999) issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In this paper, test results have proven Vitamin C can reduce dangerous blood leves of lead, a condition that can harm neurological development in children. High dosages of vitamin C are associated with reduced blood levels of lead in both young children and adults, which can have "public health implications," according to Dr. Joel Simon and Dr. Esther Hudes.
We look forward to your response.
Yours truly,
Owen R. Fonorow Co-Founder Vitamin C Foundation http://www.vitamincfoundation.org fonorow@foxvalley.net