Vitamin or mineral supplements could help tumours to grow

[Retro]

Maybe they're not such a good idea according to new research. Have a read and decide for yourself.

Taking vitamin or mineral supplements could be feeding tumours and allowing them to grow, suggests new research.

Common antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and selenium and zinc when taken additionally can all cause blood vessels in cancer to grow.

The discovery has come as a surprise as antioxidants were believed to be protective.

The researchers said that natural levels in food were fine but if people take supplements containing antioxidants as well then the extra amount can fuel tumour growth.

Taking vitamins may help tumours to grow, new research suggests

Taking vitamin or mineral supplements could be feeding tumours and allowing them to grow, suggests new research.

uk.finance.yahoo.com

 

[Retro]

@Mars @Tiffany this article may interest you.

 

[Mars]

@Mars @Tiffany this article may interest you.

Well, what can I say, I have never believed in food supplements, and have never taken any.
I was under the impression that a varied diet should give us all we need.
We only supplement with vitamin D. To get all your D from the sun is a no-no, because of the risk of acquiring a little malignant skin cancer along with the benign D.

Sometimes one may need extra iron, sometimes extra vit B12, and then a doctor would write a prescription.

The sad truth is, that even if we eat a wholesome, varied diet, with all the goodies i.e. fruit and veg, seeds, nuts, wholemeal, beans, lentils....you name it, we may still not reap all the benefit.
Why? because the land is so, so, depleted, due to intensive farming.
Organic is best, but again, depends what: organic avocado=waste of time; organic carrots=yes please.
However, organic can be prohibitively expensive, and not all organics are worth forking money for.

The fact that antioxidant supplements may enhance tumor growth is frightening; I bet the multi-billion dietary supplements industry will come out loudly contesting these findings. Surprise surprise.
Personally, I would heed this latest research. Had I been a supplement guzzler, I would stop immediately upon reading it.
Thanks Retro for bringing it to our attention.

 

[Tiffany]

Thanks @Retro ....taking antioxidant supplements can indeed increase cancer growth. My dh and I talked about this very article the other day because it came up in the news feed I use. There is actually a complex pathway an antioxidant would take to feed cancer. Our family does take supplements but each of us take supplements based on our personal profile needs. For a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement I only take food-based supplements where the vitamins and minerals were harvested directly from food, never synthetic or man made and I'm VERY picky about the binding ingredients and the capsule or outer shell ingredients.

I agree with @Mars about Vitamin D and I always take it with K2 as Vitamin D assimilates properly that way. Too much vitamin D can cause plaque in your arteries which is also why it's best to take it with K2. Same issue with taking magnesium and calcium. It's advised to take calcium at a 2:1 ratio to magnesium, however, too much calcium can also lay plaque. Natural intake of calcium is different as @Mars stated getting our nutrients from food is so much better than supplements.

On taking antioxidants, I've seen a significant difference with taking glutathione and quercetine; glutathione for detoxification pathways and quercetine for anti-aging etc. What we've decided that if we've been diagnosed with cancer, then we would halt our antioxidant program. For us personally, some antioxidants are just as good as a preventative and the key is not to take too much and use them as a support for what's not achievable in food. *This is just our protical and I realize it's not right for everyone and there is really no right or wrong except to get as much out of your food as possible, totally agree with.

 

[Uncrowned]

I am a bit curious about the study itself as the article hints that levels found in natural foods are safe. I thought it is fairly well researched that taking beyond 100% of your daily intake of any vitamin was bad and fat soluble vitamins over 100% can easily cause an overdose or toxicity. So are they talking about ALL antioxidants or the ones that are like 1000% your daily needs. I saw a vitamin a few weeks ago that was 2000 to 3000% on basically everything. It was some "gym multi vitamin" that was advertised for "athletes in training".

Don't get me wrong, getting your vitamins from real foods is best, but details would be nice.

 

[Tiffany]

I am a bit curious about the study itself as the article hints that levels found in natural foods are safe. I thought it is fairly well researched that taking beyond 100% of your daily intake of any vitamin was bad and fat soluble vitamins over 100% can easily cause an overdose or toxicity. So are they talking about ALL antioxidants or the ones that are like 1000% your daily needs. I saw a vitamin a few weeks ago that was 2000 to 3000% on basically everything. It was some "gym multi vitamin" that was advertised for "athletes in training".

Don't get me wrong, getting your vitamins from real foods is best, but details would be nice.

Agree with you about the problem with fat soluble vitamins. Water soluble vitamins are safer, but if you over consume fat soluble, there will be issues. I took too much Vitamin E years ago. The side effect was ringing ears. It took me a few days to figure it out.

I thank multi-vitamin and mineral supplements for athletes are designed more to replace their mineral losses due to long gym hours and loss of fluids (sweat)?

 

[Retro]

I took too much Vitamin E years ago. The side effect was ringing ears. It took me a few days to figure it out.

Yeah, the effects of supplements and meds can be weird, with effects bearing no relation to what you'd expect. Glad you pinpointed that one.

 

[Tiffany]

Forgot to add Vitamin E is fat soluble, which is why it built up in my system.