Can Diet Supplements Cause Cancer?

At an annual meeting hosted by the University of Colorado Cancer Center, researcher Tim Byers described a very interesting study showing that Dietary supplements taken in excess may increase the risk of developing cancer.

Several decades of observations showed that people who ate more fruits and vegetables usually had a lower risk of cancer. Scientists wondered if the same results could also be achieved with synthetic vitamin and mineral supplementation. Animal studies conducted in this regard gave optimistic results. Scientists enthusiastically began to study the effects of supplementation on human health. Thousands of patients were followed for ten years. One group took dietary supplements, the other – a placebo. The results turned out to be far from expectations.

Remember – overdosing on dietary supplements can increase the risk of cancer by up to several dozen percent!

It turned out that the supplements were not always beneficial to the health of the respondents, moreover, they were often seriously harmful, increasing the risk of cancer. For example excess beta-creatine increased the risk of developing both lung cancer and heart disease by as much as 20 percent. 

Of course, this does not mean that we should be afraid of supplements now. In fact, the above study is by no means new. We know perfectly well that an excess of everything can be harmful. It is dangerous, however, that tempted by various advertisements, we buy heaps of supplements, which, first of all, can be duplicated by contributions, and secondly, we do not need them at all. If we suspect any deficiency, we should contact a doctor about it and not make decisions on our own. Perhaps the matter will be resolved by changing the diet alone, if not, we will be directed to the pharmacy. Individually selected supplements, and most importantly, taken in the right dose, can actually be a rescue for us. Excess, on the other hand, will do more harm than good.