Health supplements have become a multi-billion dollar industry with half of all American adults reported to be taking supplements. The supplement industry has marketed supplements as little magic pills that can aid in prevention or even cure some diseases.

Many cancer patients and survivors buy into these claims and believe passionately that taking this over-the-counter pill will cure their cancer or maintain remission.

But.

Exactly, how many claims made by the supplement industry are scientifically accurate?

A commentary in 2012 from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute states that common supplements beta-carotene, selenium & folic acid at very high doses may increase cancer risk.

What do these nutrients do? 

Beta-carotene: Precursor to vitamin A, beneficial to the eyes. It also gives orange vegetables (e.g. carrots) their colour. 

Selenium: A trace mineral needed for the immune system.

Folic acid: vitamin B9, necessary to produce new cells. 

In reality, the recommended daily intake is tiny. 3 times the recommended daily intake may be harmless, but any more and it becomes harmful.

Did you know? 

The FDA doesn’t regulate health supplements as drugs. Drugs have stricter regulations and requirements for food safety. This poses a certain degree of uncertainty to the actual benefits of health supplements and the danger of its side effects.

Although our understanding of vitamins and the human body has increased tremendously since their isolation in 1905, there is still much that is unknown about the complexity of vitamins interaction in the human body. 

Tim Byers of the Colorado School of Public Health, told Science Daily,

“We have a window into less than half of the biology of what these nutrients are doing. We say generalized things about them, calling them an antioxidant or an essential mineral, but true biology turns out to be more complex than that. The effects of these supplements are certainly not limited to the label we give them. And, as we’ve seen, sometimes the unintended effects include increased cancer risk.”

The government and the scientific community should come together to plan and provide clearer guidance on nutrition supplements. But before that happens, the best thing one can do is strive to achieve a healthy and balanced diet.