Taking supplements of vitamins rich in antioxidants will not prevent cancer development, according to a new Harvard University study.
The study looked at 8,171 women who were taking a supplement, a combination of supplements or a placebo, the Washington Post reported. The supplements were 500 milligrams of vitamin C, 600 International Units of vitamin E, and 50 milligrams every-other-day of beta carotene.
The women were all over the age of 40, and took part in the study from 1995 until 2005. All the women either had cardiovascular disease, or were at risk for it. A total of 624 developed cancer and 176 died from it.
The results led researchers to conclude that taking the supplements neither prevented nor increased the women's chances of getting cancer. The odds of developing cancer were no different from the women taking the supplements than they were for those taking the placebos, according to the study.
The study's lead researcher, assistant professor Jennifer Lin, said one reason the vitamins were ineffective, is that these women were well-nourished, and that supplements could be more effective in people who are not getting enough nourishment from their diets.
Andrew Shao, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs with the supplement trade group, Council for Responsible Nutrition, had some issues with the study.
He said the study may not have gone on long enough, and it was too narrowly focused, with the average age of the women being 60, and that they all either had or were at risk for cardiovascular disease.
Shao told WebMD that he agreed that vitamins alone should not be viewed as anti-cancer drugs, but are something that should be incorporated into their lifestyles.
The study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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