A cocktail of B vitamins to combat the effects of pollution?

Every year, 40,000 people die from air pollution in France according to Santé Publique France. However, according to researchers, vitamin B supplementation could counter these negative effects. Here is what the study reports.

In the short or long term: the harmful effects of pollution

Air pollution is very harmful to health. Short termbeing exposed to a polluted atmosphere can trigger symptoms.

This may cause irritation of the eyes, nose and throat. It is also possible that it aggravates chronic respiratory pathologies such as asthma or bronchitis.

Long-term, pollution also has negative impacts on health. Even at low concentration levels, exposure to pollution over several years can have a very strong impact on health.

Several studies thus prove that atmospheric pollution plays a role in the loss oflife expectancy and mortality. It also increases the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer.

This results “direct toxicity on cells which can lead to genetic alterations, by an indirect action via a pro-inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress and by a weakening of the body’s defense mechanisms” according to Public Health France.

Spinach and seafood to combat the effects of pollution

To prevent these risks in the short and long term, a study looked for ways to prevent the negative impacts of pollution on health.

Thus, the researchers concluded that “ B vitamins could be used preventatively to complement regulations aimed at mitigating the impact of air pollution on the epigenome ».

For this study, the researchers brought together 10 volunteers, non-smokers. For six months, the guinea pigs lived in an artificially polluted atmosphere for two hours. These sessions were carried out after the volunteers had benefited from supplementation in vitamins B6, B9 and B12.

Result : vitamin B seems to have a significant impact on resistance to pollution. Scientists have noted a decrease in 150% of the impact of pollution on heart rate after four weeks.

The harmful effects of pollution on DNA and the destruction of white blood cells were also less significant. These vitamins are found naturally in certain foods such as pork, spinach or seafood.