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Cancer

Cancer: Exploring the link between prostate cancer and multivitamin use


Date: 04/06/07
 
Keywords: Vitamins,
Forget it.

 

Forget it.
 
That's my suggestion for anyone who's wondering what to do with the
recent National Cancer Institute (NCI) study that links multivitamin
use with prostate cancer. 
 
Forget the study, but everyone should make note of this key point that
the study inadvertently points up: One very specific type of
multivitamin may be harmful when taken in large doses.  
 
Cancer: Reality check  

When it comes to reporting on alternative health care, the mainstream
media acts like an excitable child who jumps whenever someone says,
'Boo!' Every little breeze sends them into Chicken Little mode, running
in circles and shrieking hysterically. 
 
Contrary to reports, however, the sky is not falling. 
 
The NCI study compared supplement use and health records for more than 295,000 men over the course of five years. The average age of the cohort was 62. Results showed no link between localized prostate cancer and the use of multivitamins or individual vitamin supplements. But results DID suggest a link between advanced prostate cancer among men who reported 'excessive use of multivitamins (more than seven times per week)' when compared to men who took no multivitamins at all. 
 
In the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the authors of the
study wrote that this link 'is of concern and merits further
evaluation.' 
 
That fairly mild comment opened a gusher of media hype. The Associated Press headline told it like it wasn't: 'Study: Vitamins Tied to
Prostate Cancer.' And CBS went with a similar half-truth: 'Study Links
Vitamin Use, Prostate Cancer.' Other media outlets followed along the
same lines. 
 
For those who cared to dig a little, it turns out that the advanced
prostate cancer link was strongest among subjects with a family history of prostate cancer. Really??


And kudos to Stephen Daniells, reporting for NutraIngredients, who
included this insightful quote from Daniel Fabricant of the Natural
Products Association: 'Considering what a strong factor family risk is
for all cancers, prostate cancer may also increase in men who have a
family history of breast cancer. Other potential risk factors of this
nature were not accounted for in the study.'  
 
Cancer: The key message...missed  
 
Here's the finer point about multivitamins that the study and the media
reports all missed: The wrong type of multivitamin, taken in excess,
just might turn a slow-growing prostate cancer into a more aggressive
cancer. 
 
In previous e-Alerts I've shared a warning from HSI Panelist Dr Allan
Spreen, who notes that many brands of multivitamins contain inorganic
iron. Here's what Dr. Spreen had to say on the topic, specifically in
reference to the NCI study... 
 
'It's very interesting that multivitamins were singled out in terms of
'excessive use'. It's well known that today's '100% RDA' multi-vits are
dangerous in terms of the amount of iron they contain, especially for
men. The standard 18 milligrams is way too high, and taking them in
excess to get more of the other vitamins and minerals is not safe, due
to the fact that the iron used is inorganic and not ingested attached
to a haeme ring like the iron in our blood. 
 
'Iron is a HUGE free radical generator - which is exactly the stress a
guy doesn't need while trying to fight other nasty little cells in the
body.' 
 
Supplement makers seem to be catching on to the iron problem. More and more these days you'll see multivitamin brands that carry a 'No Iron' note on the label. 

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