Multivitamin preparations could reduce cancer risk. - Einnews Portugal

FRIEDRICHSDORF, Germany, October 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Multivitamin preparations could reduce cancer risk.

A recent study shows eight percent fewer cases of cancer when taking a combination of vitamins and minerals.

A daily multivitamin preparation may apparently be useful after all. In any case, this is what the latest results of an American study show; this study's participants, who took a pill containing a combination of vitamins and minerals each day for an average of 11 years, had an eight percent lower risk of cancer than participants in a placebo group. The team of researchers under the leadership of Dr J. Michale Gaziano from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston had evaluated the data from 14,641 male US doctors as part of the Physicians' Health Study II. The authors of the study consider there is great potential in using multivitamin/mineral preparations as an additional measure to prevent cancer in men from middle age onwards. The scientists state that, in the final analysis, the study also showed that the long-term, regular consumption of multivitamins in the study was safe.

In comments on the study, experts stressed that an eight percent reduction in the general cancer risk was a significant factor; if you take the 1.6 million new cancer cases per year in the USA alone, this would mean 130,000 fewer cancer cases yearly just there.

In Europe, each year 3.2 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed. If one could prevent eight percent of these, this would help 256, 000 people - not to mention the costs these cancer cases would mean for the general health service.

The scientists in the USA went on to state that vitamin preparations could in no way be a substitute for a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet but that multivitamin preparations made a cost-effective, safe contribution to maintaining good health.

Source:

Gaziano J. M. et al. Multivitamins in the Prevention of Cancer in Men - The Physicians' Health Study II Randomized Controlled Trial. JAMA. Published online October 2012.

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