Thousands of Americans take vitamins on a daily basis, but are they really effective? A large clinical trial of almost 15,000 male doctors taking vitamins E and C for up to 10 years has found that neither supplement had any effect on cancer rates, including cancer of the prostate. The trial was suspended by investigators after following 35,000 men taking selenium and vitamin E, because no benefit was seen and in some supplement users there appeared to be a slight increase in the risk of cancer or diabetes. One of the authors of the current study reported that his trial found neither risk nor benefit to use of the vitamins. Howard D. Sesso, an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital explained that there are no risks involved in taking the vitamins but, he added, “There’s very little evidence to recommend taking these supplements for prevention of cancer, particularly in the case of vitamin E.” Mr. Sesso also reported that since fewer large trials of vitamin C have been carried out, the evidence regarding vitamin C is not as clear. If you thought that vitamins were the way to go you should think again.
Mr. Sesso added that at the end of the day,” , “this serves as a reminder that we should get back to basics: keeping your body weight in check, being physically active, not smoking and following a good diet.”
"Vitamins E and C Fail to Prevent Cancer in Men"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/health/research/19vitamins.html?_r=2&ref=health
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5 comments:
Sources! You are quoting someone that you did not interview yourself!
Sources! You are quoting someone that you did not interview yourself!
While, I am someone who takes vitamins regularly, I know that most likely it does nothing for me. In addition to the small half lives of vitamin C and various other vitamins, the content of those little pills is basically a mystery due to the lack of stringent FDA rules on vitamins. I guess what I end up paying for is the peace of mind they give me.
I am sorry I forgot to put the link to the article. I new I was forgetting something.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/health/research/19vitamins.html?_r=1&ref=health
I would have to agree with you Stan. I think most people feel better just by the thought that they have taken their vitamins for the day and they are ready to go on with their life even though they might not exactly know what the vitamins they are taking are good for.
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