Anticancer vitamins busted!

Posted: Saturday, July 31, 2010 | Posted by Debajyoti Datta | 2 comments

Finally the proponents of vitamins can be put to rest. An article published in the American Journal of Epidemiology put a smile on my face and I kept smiling for the whole day. “Anticancer Vitamins du Jour—The ABCED's So Far”, this was the article by Tim Byers. This article was sweet music to my ears. The scores of nutritionists and their babbling… er may I say Quacking about how different vitamins can reduce the risk of varieties of cancer may also rest in peace now. They will probably not, but there is no harm in hoping. This further brings down the elevated position in which the T.V nutritionists put themselves. What will they say now when they face the evidence? Probably they will frown and say this is a conspiracy to drug the nation. Better still, they will say, “I know this works. I have given to many patients and they have improved.”

 

The article referred above summarizes the hype regarding different vitamins and their supposedly anticancer properties and how they failed to prove their efficacy in RCTs. In addition it also tells about the recent studies published in the journal refuting the claim of anticancer properties of Vitamin D.


If it were not for the nutritionists and their peddling of anticancer vitamin supplements to patients who are in need of treatment, this article would actually make me sad. If any vitamin does have anticancer properties, either therapeutic or preventive, it would have been great news for the patients.


It is rather interesting to note that the so-called “nutritionists” never peddle their offerings to those who really need them. There are thousands of children who are suffering from micronutrient deficiencies; I bet none of them can afford to consult a nutritionist. Nutritionists conveniently choose to forget them, instead choosing to counsel the wealthy. The reason is obvious.

 

Links: http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/172/1/1