New developments in research have shown that Vitamin E supplements actually do more harm than good; at least in the case of prostate cancer rates. This is fairly ironic as a lot of people take Vitamin E supplements to deter cancer. It’s very alarming as most people in developed countries take multivitamins on a daily basis for “greater health purposes” and really, they could be slowly killing themselves. Prostate cancer is a large killer in the male population, and it might be this high because of the multivitamin supplements.
A potential reason why this is happening is that most people in developed countries don’t really need to take multi-vitamins. Most of the vitamins that we do need, if not all, we can easily get from food; and we usually do. That combined with the fact that many multivitamins pack more than 200% of a person’s daily recommended intake of vitamins and minerals could be causing an overflow of nutrients into the blood. Most people don’t realize that multivitamins don’t need to be taken every day; and most of the time the extra influx could be potentially dangerous; especially now that it has been shown that we don’t know the full extent of what taking the extra supplements will do for us in the long run.
Not to say that taking vitamins is all bad. There are still correlations with taking Vitamin E and reduced symptoms of Alzheimers. Basically, it’s a choice of the lesser evil. Which is worse, prostate cancer or Alzheimers?
http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/12/vitamin-e-may-increase-risk-of-prostate-cancer/
Many processed health supplements that get released seem to have side effects that are not discovered until later in the future, like the Vitamin E supplements. In addition, with the vast variety of health supplements available, the combined usage of these supplements can have unforeseen consequences. Research in health often becomes hazy and debatable, as it is nearly impossible to get immediate answers for new inventions that are supposedly health enhancements. It just becomes important to weigh the benefits and consequences, and the risk factors between the two.
ReplyDeleteIt is alarming how multivitamins, typically associated with improving health, have been associated with fatal illnesses. For people in developing countries, theses vitamins are necessary due to a lack of nutritious food in their region. If families in developing areas in the world had access to proper, healthy foods, the issue of consuming a potentially harmful multivitamin would not be a concern. It is a daunting circumstance to be in, deciding to take nutrients your food lacks, despite the harmful side effects that are said to be linked with it.
ReplyDeleteThere are many research said excess the amount if vitamins that you need will increase the risk of getting cancer. Vitamin E is an example. But rather it is good or bad. Everything must have their good and side affect. In order prevent those risk is balance what you need to eat and do exercise daily is more important. Also this study should be further research, because the study failed to reveal the form of Vitamin E that the men in the study were taking. Does it have different affect on gender? Anyway, developing countries won’t have a chance get the cancer, because they not even get enough the nutrition of what they need. This is not a concern issue in those developing countries.
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