Questions surrounding multivitamin use

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Questions surrounding multivitamin use 23 April 2010

A study recently appeared online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

that raised some eyebrows. The Swedish study followed approximately 35,000 women

(aged 49 to 83 when the study began in 1997). After 10 years, women who reported

using multivitamins were 19 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than

women who did not take multivitamins. The study authors controlled for factors

like alcohol use, body weight, family history, smoking and others.

Questions linger

This is only the latest study to show that the role of supplements in cancer

risk is anything but clear-cut.

Although researchers like to study the effect of promising nutrients in

isolation, it's unclear whether a given vitamin or mineral behaves the same way

when it's consumed as a supplement as when it's consumed in a whole food.

Because of such complexities and lingering questions, the American Institute for

Cancer Research (AICR) recommends looking to the whole diet to get the vitamins,

minerals and phytochemicals that potentially help protect against cancer.

In fact, our expert report specifically recommends against relying on dietary

supplements to protect against cancer.

The bottom line

This one new study is not, in itself, a reason to throw out your one-a-day

vitamin. But it is a reason to redouble your efforts to eat a varied and

healthful diet full of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans and low in red

meat. That's the overall pattern of eating that has been consistently associated

with lower risk for cancer.

Some individuals who have nutrient deficiencies could benefit from a daily

multivitamin. That's why it's vital to discuss all supplements you take –

including a seemingly innocuous one-a-day multivitamin – with your doctor.

(Source: American Institute for Cancer Research: April 2010)

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