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Cancer
Cancer Risk: Before you throw away your multivitamin...
Date: 13/04/10
As usual, scratch beneath the sensational headlines and you soon realise that all isn’t quite as it initially appears. So, before you throw out your one-a-day multivitamin let’s take a closer look at what the study findings actually revealed…
“Could multivitamins raise breast cancer risk?” If you came across this, or another similar news headline recently, you were probably, understandably, very alarmed.
However, as a regular reader of the Daily Health e-alerts you’re probably well aware by now how the media likes to twist a story… especially when it comes to nutritional supplements. They love to grab any chance they get to write scathing reports on vitamins.
This case was no exception. As usual, scratch beneath the sensational headlines and you soon realise that all isn’t quite as it initially appears. So, before you throw out your one-a-day multivitamin let’s take a closer look at what the study findings actually revealed…
A very modest risk at this stage
The Swedish study led by Dr. Susanna C. Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed 35,000 Swedish women between the ages of 49 and 83 over a ten year period. All the women were cancer free at the onset, with 974 developing breast cancer throughout the course of the study.
A relatively small number of women who took daily vitamins were diagnosed with breast cancer, which suggests that if there is a risk, it is a modest one:
9,000 women in the study were vitamin users with 293 developing the disease.
681 of the remaining 26,000 women developed breast cancer.
Statistically, participating women who took daily vitamins were 19 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer.
The researchers of the study were unable to confirm the link between breast cancer and taking a daily multivitamin based on these findings alone, but suggest the matter needs further investigation. Of course, that didn’t stop the media from jumping to conclusions... the way many news sources reported on the findings indicated that there was an irrefutable link.
Backlash from other health experts
In response to this study, health experts were quick to lash back in defence of multivitamins and said that the findings do not prove that the supplements are causing cancer. In fact, they contradict other study findings that have found no link between multivitamins and cancer risk.
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) said the study does not provide enough reason to throw out your one- a-day vitamin and that the role of supplements in cancer risk is anything but clear-cut.
The study was also slammed by the Health Food Manufacturers' Association (HFMA), a UK-based trade organisation, who said it was “fundamentally flawed”. Graham Keen, Executive Director of the HFMA said: “The study was not designed to establish cause and effect, and the researchers themselves agree that the findings do not prove that vitamins are to blame for incidence of breast cancer.”
Let’s not forget that vitamins and minerals are not just useful for good health and overall wellbeing, they’re ESSENTIAL. In an ideal world, our diets would provide us with all the vitamins and minerals that our body needs for good health. However, according to Graham Keen: “Evidence from the FSA’s latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that a significant proportion of the UK population simply doesn’t achieve nutritional sufficiency through diet alone. For those looking to safeguard their nutritional intake, daily multivitamin supplements provide essential nutritional insurance for millions of consumers.”
Dispelling the cancer claim
There are countless studies showing the benefits of taking a daily multivitamin. A recent US study found that long-term regular consumption of a multivitamin can reduce the risk of dying from heart disease by 16 per cent. Another study revealed that multivitamin users tend to have a younger ‘biological’ age.
In February, a US National Cancer Institute-sponsored study found that multivitamin supplements rich in phytochemicals - such as vitamin C, carotenoids, lutein, folic acid, and vitamins A and K - help reduce the risk of lung cancer in smokers.
Obviously, the best way to ward of ill-health is to eat a healthy balanced diet, take regular exercise, quit smoking and take active steps to lower stress.
Related Reading:
Supplements: Taking the right dosage is vital
Sources:
‘Multi-Vitamins Linked to Breast Cancer’ published online by eFitness Now 08.04.10, efitnessnow.com
‘Experts allay fears over multivitamins and breast cancer risk’ by Stephen Daniels, published online 07.04.10, nutraingredients.com
Am. J. Epidemiol, Vol. 170, pp. 472-483
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. Vol. 89, pp. 1857-1863
Back to topHowever, as a regular reader of the Daily Health e-alerts you’re probably well aware by now how the media likes to twist a story… especially when it comes to nutritional supplements. They love to grab any chance they get to write scathing reports on vitamins.
This case was no exception. As usual, scratch beneath the sensational headlines and you soon realise that all isn’t quite as it initially appears. So, before you throw out your one-a-day multivitamin let’s take a closer look at what the study findings actually revealed…
A very modest risk at this stage
The Swedish study led by Dr. Susanna C. Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed 35,000 Swedish women between the ages of 49 and 83 over a ten year period. All the women were cancer free at the onset, with 974 developing breast cancer throughout the course of the study.
A relatively small number of women who took daily vitamins were diagnosed with breast cancer, which suggests that if there is a risk, it is a modest one:
The researchers of the study were unable to confirm the link between breast cancer and taking a daily multivitamin based on these findings alone, but suggest the matter needs further investigation. Of course, that didn’t stop the media from jumping to conclusions... the way many news sources reported on the findings indicated that there was an irrefutable link.
Backlash from other health experts
In response to this study, health experts were quick to lash back in defence of multivitamins and said that the findings do not prove that the supplements are causing cancer. In fact, they contradict other study findings that have found no link between multivitamins and cancer risk.
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) said the study does not provide enough reason to throw out your one- a-day vitamin and that the role of supplements in cancer risk is anything but clear-cut.
The study was also slammed by the Health Food Manufacturers' Association (HFMA), a UK-based trade organisation, who said it was “fundamentally flawed”. Graham Keen, Executive Director of the HFMA said: “The study was not designed to establish cause and effect, and the researchers themselves agree that the findings do not prove that vitamins are to blame for incidence of breast cancer.”
Let’s not forget that vitamins and minerals are not just useful for good health and overall wellbeing, they’re ESSENTIAL. In an ideal world, our diets would provide us with all the vitamins and minerals that our body needs for good health. However, according to Graham Keen: “Evidence from the FSA’s latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that a significant proportion of the UK population simply doesn’t achieve nutritional sufficiency through diet alone. For those looking to safeguard their nutritional intake, daily multivitamin supplements provide essential nutritional insurance for millions of consumers.”
Dispelling the cancer claim
There are countless studies showing the benefits of taking a daily multivitamin. A recent US study found that long-term regular consumption of a multivitamin can reduce the risk of dying from heart disease by 16 per cent. Another study revealed that multivitamin users tend to have a younger ‘biological’ age.
In February, a US National Cancer Institute-sponsored study found that multivitamin supplements rich in phytochemicals - such as vitamin C, carotenoids, lutein, folic acid, and vitamins A and K - help reduce the risk of lung cancer in smokers.
Obviously, the best way to ward of ill-health is to eat a healthy balanced diet, take regular exercise, quit smoking and take active steps to lower stress.
Related Reading:
Supplements: Taking the right dosage is vital
Sources:
‘Multi-Vitamins Linked to Breast Cancer’ published online by eFitness Now 08.04.10, efitnessnow.com
‘Experts allay fears over multivitamins and breast cancer risk’ by Stephen Daniels, published online 07.04.10, nutraingredients.com
Am. J. Epidemiol, Vol. 170, pp. 472-483
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. Vol. 89, pp. 1857-1863
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