Vitamin S

Salicylic acid is a compound produced by aspirin but also found commonly in plant-based foods. Salicylic acid may be higher in organic foods when plants are creating more of their own defense hormones against pests, including salicylic acid. A meta-analysis concluded that aspirin taken daily protects one from cancer deaths. Many plant foods naturally contain salicylic acid with herbs and spices having the highest amounts this may explain why India has very low colorectal cancer rates (1,2). For those not receiving salicylic acid, some researchers believe, that this should be a deficiency labeled as Vitamin S (1,2).