Supplemental vitamins may not prevent and may even increase some cancers
Over the years the tide of opinion on vitamins in the prevention of cancer has changed rapidly and as new information becomes apparent it is now known that the focus should not only be on nutrients that prevent cancer, but on nutrients that cause cancer.
Consumers are now concerned about taking multivatimins that contain folic acid. The March Harvard Men’s study found that average men not take a multivitamin until the puzzle of folic acid and prostrate cancer is solved. A link between colon polyps and folic acid has also been found.
Consumers need to understand the generally normal levels of folic acid in the diet is not the focus of these studies, but levels of folic acid that were 1,000 mcg or more – the amount obtained through a fortified diet and the multivitamin. Researchers almost force consumers to have designer nutrient regimes tailored to their own lifestyles, labs, diseases and risk factors, and, in the future, genes.
In a recent study on 77.000 vitamin users published in the American Thoracic Journal of Respiratory Care and Medicine, March, 2008, found the following ‘ supplemental vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and folate did not show any evidence for a decreased risk of lung cancer,”. In fact, the study researchers said that “at increasing levels of vitamin E there was a slightly higher risk of lung cancer”. This is probably due to the complex role vitamin E plays in the antioxidant theory at some levels becoming a free radical itself. Theoretically, vitamin E should be taken with increased levels of vitamin C (higher than that found in a multi-vitamin) to avoid free radical damage in many oxidative reactive states such as lung cancer.
According to Dr. Salore, there was a 28% increase in risk for every 40O IU of vitamin E taken per day. No data was available on the co-existing antioxidant vitamin C. The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Cancer Society emphasize eating at least two servings of fruit, thus recommending the role of vitamin C in the process of management of cancer. We need more studies on the coexisting dose amount of vitamin C to offset the free radical oxidation state in Cancer. Once we find the dose of vitamin c needed, combined experiments correlating an optimal vitamin E regime taken with vitamin C might be successfully conducted. These are areas of study for the future.
The end safety conclusion, however, at this time, given the large population cohorts in the study, is to focus on getting our nutrients from fruits and vegetables and to realize that supplemental vitamins may not be helpful, at least in preventing cancer. This is in direct contrast to fact that multivitamins have been noted to be located in the government’s recommendation for a healthy elderly stating that some “vitamins may reduce the risk of cancer”. Clearly, more study is needed.
About the Author
Kathy Shattler received her Master of Science degree from Michigan State University in E. Lansing Michigan in Human Nutrition. Her twenty-two years of practice includes holding positions as a Lecturer, Chief Clinical Dietitian and Program Manager. Kathy is the Founder of Nutri-Care Consulting and is currently the Nutrition Director of www.CEU4U.COM, an online continuing education management company for Registered Dietitians and Dietetic Technicians.
Robin Plan responds:
Posted: March 8th, 2008 at 5:55 pm →
Not all vitamin supplements are created equally, even a whole food multi can have synthetic ingredients, additives and fillers. I’m a lot more concerned about the synthetic ingredients in multi vitamins.
Were the above studys done with multi vitamins containing synthetic ingredients or a whole food non-synthetic ingredient base?
Here are 3 reports from Reuters Health, and New England Journal of Medicine about “synthetic” ingredients in vitamins.
1. Male smokers taking vitamins with synthetic Vitamin E and Beta Carotene have increase rates of lung cancer, heart attacks and increased death.
2. Birth defects increased for women on synthetic vitamin A, 400% increase before a study was halted.
3. Men get thickened arteries on synthetic Vitamin C. This is after only 18 months of taking a synthetic Vitamin C.
Kathy J. Shattler, M.S.,RD responds:
Posted: March 12th, 2008 at 2:01 pm →
You have brought up a very interesting point and I commend you for it. I am not given enough space to go into a discourse between the issues with synthetic vs. natural vitamins. With the rising awareness of gluten allergies, celiac disease, food sensitivities, it is only common sense to think of vitamin fillers and additives and what they might be doing to our bodies and to the skewing of the results of a study. I agree with you that we should take a stronger look at perhaps a three pronged study approach where we do a placebo, natural and synthetic vitamin to see if the results are comparable. Then we can start sorting out the effects of synthetics and the possibility of skewing study results.
Vitamins harmful? | Aggressive Patient responds:
Posted: April 4th, 2008 at 6:23 pm →
[…] 1. Supplements (vitamins) should be taken with caution. […]