Vitamins [supplementation] Fail to Prevent Cancer: Study

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Vitamins [supplementation] Fail to Prevent Cancer: Study

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/30/AR2008123002141.\

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n = 8,171 women who were randomly assigned to take a supplement, a

combination of supplements or a placebo.

The supplements were vitamin C (500 milligrams a day), vitamin E (600

International Units every other day) and beta carotene (50 milligrams every

other day). The women, all over the age of 40, took part in the study from

1995 and 1996 until 2005, for an average of nine years. They all had

cardiovascular disease or were at risk for it.

....

Why didn't the supplements prevent cancer, as some earlier research had

suggested? One theory, Lin said, is that they might be effective in people

who are poorly nourished, but not in well-nourished people such as the women

in the study. She said some research has shown that diets lacking in

antioxidants -- found in fruits and vegetables -- can lead to higher cancer

rates.