Vitamins: Live Long or Die Young?

What a surprise.

It turns out that vitamins have an effect in cancer (both pre- and post-) in men (see MedPageToday and WSJ).

According to the WSJ "multivitamin Centrum Silver had an 8% reduction in risk of developing cancer compared with those taking a placebo."  The men in the study were followed for approximately 11.2 years.

According to MedpageToday "men with a history of cancer appeared to derive even more benefit from the multivitamin, as they had a 27% lower cancer rate compared with placebo-treated men with a history of cancer."

Interesting that this goes along with one of my earliest posts "Contrary Thoughts on Health" from 2005.

The key issue is that exercise alone depletes your body of vitamins.

If you don't replace them then there is little point to the exercise.

These studies seem to indicate that vitamins can have a significant effect on cancer.  Note too that this is a multivitamin (Centrum Silver).

There have been many tests of the individual vitamin components in this vitamin but they do not show the same results - only the combination seems to work.

As far as I can see this study is quite remarkable.

I know of no other pill that has the known effect of reducing the rate of cancer.

Note that a good multivitamin cuts the rate of cancer, not the risk.

Now of course there could be other elements as well that people are doing, e.g., exercise, other dietary elements, and so on.

But whatever is going on a 27% rate cut in cancer is significant.

So one would expect medical science to say, "hey, this is important!"  But you can bet they won't.  The reason why is simple: money.  A bottle of Centrum Silver costs about $18 USD at Walmart for 180 pills - maybe $36 USD a year - for a 8% reduction in the risk of cancer (if you've never had it) and a 27% rate cut for those that have had it.

$36 USD a year.

So if vitamins affect cancer is it genetic?

It would seem that, at least directly, its not.  Otherwise how would the vitamins work since they don't affect genetics.

On the other hand there those that say all this is total hogwash: see this.

Vitamin usage is killing people according to this interpretation of the study.

I don't think science has any clue why some people live longer than others - some are healthier than others and so on.

On the other hand, if this study is true, there would be far less need for "big pharma" solutions - little wonder they pooh pooh it as wrong.