Vitamins Linked to Breast Cancer - take 2

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Hi All,Sorry for the problem with the article yesterday - here I go trying again - hope this one works better. For those who want to respond, there is a space for comments.Multivitamin link to breast cancer

Many women use multi-vitamins in the belief they prevent chronic diseases such as cancer / The Sunday Telegraph

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Scientists say cancer risk rises 20%

35,000 women studied over 10 years

Findings rattle $2.5b vitamin industry

WOMEN who take a daily multivitamin pill are nearly 20 per cent more

likely to develop breast cancer, a major study has revealed.

The shock finding has rattled Australia's $2.5 billion complementary health industry, which is urging consumers not to panic.In

a 10-year study of more than 35,000 women, researchers discovered those

who regularly took a multi-vitamin pill increased the risk of

developing a tumour by 19 per cent.They said the result was

concerning and needed investigation as many women used multi-vitamins

in the belief they prevented chronic diseases such as cancer.A

"biologically plausible" explanation was that taking vitamin and

mineral supplements significantly increased the density of breast

tissue, a strong risk factor for breast cancer. Folic acid, often

present in a potent form in multi-vitamins, may also accelerate tumour

growth.Breast cancer is the most

common cancer among females in Australia, affecting more than 12,000

and killing more than 2,700 women every year. One in nine women will be

diagnosed with it by the age of 85.The study, conducted by Sweden's Karolinska Institute and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has been greeted with interest and caution by Australian experts.Women who took a multivitamin pill in the study had higher breast tissue density than those who took no vitamin supplements."Results

from this prospective study suggest that the use of multivitamins may

increase the risk of breast cancer," the lead author of the study,

na Larrson, said.Multi-vitamins are big business in

Australia, with leading maker Blackmores posting a before-tax profit of

$30.6 million last financial year. Some nutritionists and dietitians

argue supplements are unnecessary, as people absorb nutrients far

better from food.PanicKathy Chapman, of the Cancer Council Australia, told The Sunday Telegraph the study would add to a growing body of evidence that multi-vitamins were "not all they're cracked up to be"."It

reinforces the importance of eating fresh fruit and vegetables rather

than people thinking they can get more of their nutrition from a pill,"

she said. "What we've learned over time in cancer is that quick fixes

aren't a good idea."Taking a multi-vitamin pill was linked to a

smaller increase in breast cancer risk than being overweight or

drinking too much alcohol, she said.The Complementary Healthcare

Council of Australia said "consumers need not panic" at the findings.

It cited "concerns over limitations to the study", such as its reliance

on self-administered questionnaires and failure to look at the

bioactivity of multi-vitamin ingredients.Blackmores advised

customers "not to be alarmed" by the study, which it claims is

inconclusive and conflicts with other research.Professor

Boyages, director of the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute and spokesman

for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, said he "wouldn't put any

weight" on the study, as there were many complicated risk factors

involved in breast cancer.Delaying pregnancy until the age of

35, drinking alcohol every day and early-onset periods may each raise

the risk by as much as 30 per cent, he said.Nutrition Australia (NA) advocates getting vitamins and minerals from a varied diet rather than supplements."Your body will absorb vitamins and minerals so much better from food," NA dietician Frederiksen said.

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