What supplements should I take to reduce skin cancer development?

Everyone is interested in supplements.  They seem easy, nutritious, organic, earthy, and trendy.  But they’re often expensive as well. So, I’m narrowing it down to the supplements that have scientific proof to reduce sun damage and skin cancer development, trendy or not. 

Sunscreen and sun protection are tedious and often don’t seem very cool. I get that.  Today we’ll discuss some supplements that have scientific evidence for reducing skin cancer and sun damage.  However, sad to say, they are NOT a substitute for sunscreen, sun avoidance and sun protective clothing.  

Nicotinamide (Vitamin B3) –  This common and inexpensive vitamin has more scientific evidence than most other supplements. There are eight different B vitamins, Nicotinamide aka Niacinamide is available OTC and the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is 20mg.  A series of studies from Australia has shown that for patients with prior skin cancers, daily supplementation at 500mg twice a day led to a 23% decrease in new skin cancer development after one year. These studies primarily looked at patients with a past history of multiple BCC and SCC.  Nicotinamide is recommended for patients with these skin cancers and patients at high risk, such as transplant recipients. The best part is that Nicotinamide is easily purchased, inexpensive, and as a water-soluble vitamin, hard to overdo.

Polypodium leucotomos – When this supplement was first introduced over 20 years ago, I was skeptical.  Now I take it myself and recommend it a lot in the office.  It is a fern extract from South America with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity shown to be helpful in greatly reducing sensitivity and damage from sun exposure.  The active ingredients include chlorogenic acid, coumaric acid, vanillin acid, caffeic acid and ferulic acid. When taken in the morning, it lasts pretty much all day, greatly reducing sun sensitivity, sunburn, and sun induced skin conditions such as polymorphous light eruption and melasma. The original supplement containing polypodium was Heliocare.  It is still the most recommended OTC brand, and the one I often take myself.  Personally, because I spend many days working inside, I take it only on days where I am spending lots of time outside. In the Spring Boutique we also have SUNISDIN which contains polypodium and a number of other antioxidants. This can function more as a daily antioxidant supplement. 

Beyond these supplements there is not a lot of scientific evidence.  A colorful, vitamin-rich diet and a multivitamin are never a bad idea. How about you?  Have you tried or do you take one of the supplements above? 

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