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.

 

[Retro]

Here's more research on the dangers of taking supplements. This is further food for thought before taking any supplements.

The other thing to be aware of, is that the supplements industry is poorly regulated, if at all, everywhere, I believe. Hence, most of these products could quite likely just be snake oil, so this is the reason that I don't take any supplements, other than those prescribed by my doctor.

Sticking to a healthy, balanced diet is the usual answer to getting all the nutrients that you need. Harder to do in our modern world, I know.

An oncologist has claimed that taking multivitamins could raise cancer risk by as much as 30%, despite previous studies finding that they pose no risk.

Dr Mohammad Muneeb Khan, who founded the charity Killing Cancer Kindly, has warned that multivitamin products should receive tobacco-style warnings due to the “dangers” of some supplements.

"Synthetic pills contain obscenely high and wholly unnecessary volumes of micronutrients that far exceed what the average human body requires," he explained.

"These tiny organic compounds are so numerous that our organs struggle to use them, and they’re left, in effect, to float about the body."

He added that the problem with these excess multivitamins is that they are "readily available to feed the hundreds of cancer cells that are made in our body every day".

"Normally, our body has the capability to destroy these cancer cells effectively but this becomes a challenge when they are well fed and able to increase in number quickly," he said.

Multivitamin use could increase cancer risk by 30%, oncologist claims

Dr Mohammad Muneeb Khan says multivitamins could be doing more harm than good, but what do studies say?

uk.style.yahoo.com

 

[Tiffany]

"Synthetic" vitamins are an issue and I can see how these supplements can pose a risk. For me personally, I only use food based vitamins, in other words, the vitamins are from natural food sources, no chemicals, binders, fillers and free of a lot of allergens. I do agree, there's harm when you take too much. Balanced Vitamins and minerals are there to support your health and not replace a bad diet. Sometimes too much of one mineral can cause harm where you start assimilating too little of anther mineral. Too complex to write about, and good article to enlighten people.

 

[Mars]

"Synthetic" vitamins are an issue and I can see how these supplements can pose a risk. For me personally, I only use food based vitamins, in other words, the vitamins are from natural food sources, no chemicals, binders, fillers and free of a lot of allergens. I do agree, there's harm when you take too much. Balanced Vitamins and minerals are there to support your health and not replace a bad diet. Sometimes too much of one mineral can cause harm where you start assimilating too little of anther mineral. Too complex to write about, and good article to enlighten people.

Yeah, this is where people are mistaken, by thinking they can undo the damage of a poor diet by swallowing supplements. The supplement industry is unregulated, you never really know what you are taking in.
The truth may unfortunately be boring, yet it is simple: get your nutrients from the source, from nature. Forget about processed food, shop bought, sliced and diced and prepared in a neat package.

Dr Mohammad Muneeb Khan, who founded the charity Killing Cancer Kindly, has warned that multivitamin products should receive tobacco-style warnings due to the “dangers” of some supplements.

I tend to agree, it is an uphill battle, but at least Dr Khan is pointing the way; vitamins should carry a health warning. Even then I bet a lot of people would ignore it. Too much hassle to follow a wholesome diet, easier to pop a pill.

 

[Tiffany]

Yeah, this is where people are mistaken, by thinking they can undo the damage of a poor diet by swallowing supplements. The supplement industry is unregulated, you never really know what you are taking in.
The truth may unfortunately be boring, yet it is simple: get your nutrients from the source, from nature. Forget about processed food, shop bought, sliced and diced and prepared in a neat package.


I tend to agree, it is an uphill battle, but at least Dr Khan is pointing the way; vitamins should carry a health warning. Even then I bet a lot of people would ignore it. Too much hassle to follow a wholesome diet, easier to pop a pill.

People buying supplements also need guidance. There are so many choices out there and a few simple mistakes could activate a thyroid condition they already have, for example and make it worse. That's a challenge with the whole food based vitamins. As good as the cruciferous vegetables are for some people the nutrients added in a supplement at higher levels can either activate a thyroid issue or encourage kidney stone development.

Funny, cruciferous is underlined as misspelled but I double checked

 

[Mars]

People buying supplements also need guidance. There are so many choices out there and a few simple mistakes could activate a thyroid condition they already have, for example and make it worse. That's a challenge with the whole food based vitamins. As good as the cruciferous vegetables are for some people the nutrients added in a supplement at higher levels can either activate a thyroid issue or encourage kidney stone development.

Funny, cruciferous is underlined as misspelled but I double checked

Tiffany, you have spelled cruciferous correctly. I should know because I always have some members of this lovely family sitting in the crisper drawer of my fridge.
As explained in the article that Retro has attached in the opening post, an excess of micronutrients just free-float in the blood, what the body does not need it secretes, what is not secreted still floats, and serves to feed budding cancer cells. GRIM.
True about Calcium, for example: vital for us, yet an excess deposits itself in arteries and kidneys.

I really believe this whole subject of food, supplements, the role of vitamins and minerals, is complicated beyond belief, and fraught with pitfalls.
Therefore, here we only supplements with vit D3, and even this, not in mega doses, and our blood levels of this vitamin is regularly checked by our GP.

 

[Tiffany]

Lol @Mars, glad I spelled it right

D3 is great and taken with K2 will help to prevent plaque build-up.