VITAMINS REDUCE CANCER IN MEN
17 October 2012
Vitamins may reduce cancer risk in men, study finds
From the BBC
Dr. Pinna says…
This study is in contrast to the last one that showed that vitamins shortened life in women.
With two conflicting studies, we have to make a decision on our own.
Vitamins are molecules that allow cells to increase their metabolism.
They are essentially “enzymes” that speed up cellular activity. They are produced in
Nature and before the advent of the pharmaceutical industry, humans got their vitamins
from plants, meat and sunlight.
The “Natural Way” should be the best way. But our diet is no longer Natural because our
Life Style is no longer Natural.
I believe that supplementation is better than nothing, unless we eat food as we
did ten thousand years ago.
It is easy to advise people: “Eat a “healthy” diet, but few people can accomplish this.
I personally take Vitamins “C” and “D” almost daily and all other supplements about
once a week.
More important than vitamins is weight control and exercise.
This requires time and work, but it pays off.
ARTICLE FROM BBC
Taking a daily multivitamin pill may lower the risk of developing cancer in men, US researchers have claimed.
Their study followed nearly 15,000 men, aged over 50, for more than a decade.
The findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reported a small reduction in cancer cases in men taking vitamin pills.
But experts warned that other studies had found the opposite effect and that eating a diet packed with fruit and vegetables was a safer bet.
Vitamin supplements are recommended for some groups of people, such as vitamin D in the over 65s.
However, the benefits of multivitamins on general health have been mixed. Some studies suggest they cause more harm than good when taken by healthy people while others have shown no benefit in cancer.
Doctors at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School analysed data from men who were given either a multivitamin or a sugar pill every day.
Diet emphasis
There were 17 cancers per 1,000 people taking multivitamins per year compared with 18 cancers per 1,000 people taking the dummy pills per year.
One of the researchers, Dr Howard Sesso said: “Many studies have suggested that eating a nutritious diet may reduce a man’s risk of developing cancer.
“Now we know that taking a daily multivitamin, in addition to addressing vitamin and mineral deficiencies, may also be considered in the prevention of cancer in middle-aged and older men.”
The researchers do not know if a similar effect would be seen in women or in younger men.
Dr Helga Groll, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: “Although this study suggests that men in the trial had a slightly lower cancer risk if they took multivitamins, we can’t be sure from this research whether this is a true effect or down to chance.
“Many other large studies tell us that vitamin and mineral supplements don’t protect against cancer – they either have no effect or can even increase cancer risk in some cases.
“The best way to get a full range of vitamins and minerals is to eat a healthy, balanced diet with a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Most healthy people shouldn’t need to take supplements although some may be advised to do so by their doctor.”
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