Vitamins Don't Change Cancer Risk: Studies

Perception that vitamins can prevent prostate problems is false

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Dec 10, 2008 3:15 PM CST

(Newser) – Two new studies debunk the perception that vitamin supplements help ward off prostate and other cancers, the BBC reports. The trials involving 50,000 men provided the most definitive results yet on the effects of vitamins C and E—or, rather lack thereof—on cancer. One study had planned to trace the effects over 7 years but was curtailed because results were so disappointing.

"Supplements don't substitute for a healthy diet, and some studies have shown that they may actually increase the risk of cancer," says one cancer specialist.

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390656 06: Vitamin C, which is widely touted as cancer preventive, is on display June 15, 2001 in Miami, Florida. (Getty Images)

Vitamin E and selenium had no effect on cancer prevention. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

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Do vitamins really work? CBS looks at the $8 billion industry, and what the medicine actually does. (CBS)

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Vitamins and trace elements are not intended to be used like drugs. They are intended for health maintenance.
- Dr Pamela Mason, scientific adviser to the Health Supplements Information Service

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Vitamins Don't Change Cancer Risk: Studies