Taking multivitamins is associated with a higher risk of developing cancer

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Many people use multivitamins, to replenish the supply of vitamins or minerals that may be lacking in their diet. As the name suggests, multivitamins contain a variety of vitamins and minerals.

While there are good reasons to take multivitamins, especially if you can't get enough of them from food, taking such supplements can pose hidden health risks.

Study links greater use of multivitamins to overall higher risk of certain cancers.

“Multivitamins are among the most commonly used supplements, but their effectiveness in preventing cancer remains unclear.” – says the dietician-nutritionist. – Scientists examined the relationship between multivitamin use and the risks of general and localized cancer in a large cohort to establish potential preventive or harmful relationships.

A slightly higher overall cancer risk was observed in men (but not in women), who took one or more multivitamins daily compared to those who did not. The latter reflected a higher risk of prostate cancer and leukemia.

Taking more than one multivitamin per day was also strongly associated with oropharyngeal cancer risk in women. In contrast, daily multivitamin use was associated with an increased risk of colon cancer in both sexes.

“There is no reliable evidence that any dietary supplement can help prevent cancer,” adds the nutritionist, commenting on the study. .