If you are tuned in to health news, you may have heard about the new study that showed that among older men who took multivitamins, the incidence of cancer was reduced by 8%. Just like the studies that showed increased death rates in women who took multivitamins, this study failed to control for overall health.
Therefore, when considering the relevance of these findings one does not know if the results were due to cause and effect or coincidence.
Undoubtedly, almost everyone, including the authors of this study, agree that foods that contain such multivitamins in their natural form as those studied have value in cancer prevention. Therefore, without controlling for the diet of the subjects of this study, one cannot reach conclusions whether the moderate reduction in non-prostate cancer rates (there was no reduction in prostate cancers, which represented half of the cancers that developed) we're due to pills or food. Also, the study did not identify those who had nutritional deficiencies that can impair proper immune system functioning that can lead to cancer growth.
Furthermore, this research was paid for by companies that provided the vitamins used in the study, which always raises red flags.
So what's the take-away? Eat whole foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, whole grains and wild salmon that contain all the essential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids our body needs that exist in a presumed synergistic relationship with hundreds of other nutrients and avoid synthetic pills of isolated chemicals.
But don't take my word for it. Tomorrow I will give you the actual numbers from the study and you can reach your own conclusions.
Therefore, when considering the relevance of these findings one does not know if the results were due to cause and effect or coincidence.
Undoubtedly, almost everyone, including the authors of this study, agree that foods that contain such multivitamins in their natural form as those studied have value in cancer prevention. Therefore, without controlling for the diet of the subjects of this study, one cannot reach conclusions whether the moderate reduction in non-prostate cancer rates (there was no reduction in prostate cancers, which represented half of the cancers that developed) we're due to pills or food. Also, the study did not identify those who had nutritional deficiencies that can impair proper immune system functioning that can lead to cancer growth.
Furthermore, this research was paid for by companies that provided the vitamins used in the study, which always raises red flags.
So what's the take-away? Eat whole foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, whole grains and wild salmon that contain all the essential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids our body needs that exist in a presumed synergistic relationship with hundreds of other nutrients and avoid synthetic pills of isolated chemicals.
But don't take my word for it. Tomorrow I will give you the actual numbers from the study and you can reach your own conclusions.
Multivitamins offer no benefit in the absence of deficiency.
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