Category: Vitamins

Can too much vitamins harm the body ?

Absolutely Yes. Vitamins can cause harm.

Vitamins are very essential for life.

But too much of vitamins is bad.

You can buy paracetamol in a supermarket and it (rightly) comes with a big list of side effects .

You can freely buy various vitamins and supplements in supermarkets and none of them come with any warning what so ever.

Because vitamins are heavily promoted over Social media, newspapers, TV, and internet, many people think vitamins are safe and good. So people overindulge hoping for more benefits. But taking too much of vitamins is risky and can cause health problems due to Hypervitaminosis.

A recent article in Guardian points out the risks from taking too much of vitamin supplements. A man took too much of vitamin B6 and this resulted in damage to his nerves!

So be very careful with extra vitamins and supplements. Check whether you need the supplements at all. Try natural products rather than factory produced artificial supplements.

Reference

Guardian newspaper: Simon never linked the pain in his hands and feet to multivitamins – but a pathology test did. Natasha May and Sharlotte Thou. Published Sat 4 Jan 2025 19.00 GMT. Last modified on Sun 5 Jan 2025 01.55 GMT

Wiki. Hypervitaminosis

Disclaimer: Please note – This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is NOT a expert medical opinion on various topics. This blog is purely for information research only and do check the sources where cited. Please DO consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options, which are relevant and specific to you. The views expressed in this blog are NOT, in any way whatsoever, intended to be a substitute for professional advice.

The blog is NOT previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed, in any way, by any organisation that the author is associated with. The views expressed in this blog likely represents some of the author’s personal views held at the time of drafting the blog and MAY CHANGE overtime, particularly when new evidence comes to light.

Benefits of Vitamin D supplements and Omega 3 supplements

Most people assume that nutritional supplements are always beneficial. But it is not always the case.

Paradoxically, the people, who may need the supplements because they don’t have a healthy diet, are the often ones who do not take the supplements !

But people, who usually do not need various supplements, because they are health conscious and have a good healthy diet, are often the ones who take the supplements unnecessarily !

Sometimes Supplements can be harmful. Hence, the need for clinical trials to assess the benefits and risks of various supplements.

So it is interesting to read a trial in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) which looked at Vitamin D and marine derived omega 3 fatty acids supplements. The study looked the effect of these two supplements in preventing Autoimmune diseases.

Autoimmune disease is a type of disease where body’s own immune system misfires and causes inflammation in self-tissues.

Autoimmune diseases, are often chronic conditions and cause considerable misery.

The study published in BMJ looked at Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, autoimmune thyroid disease, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease, and all other new onset autoimmune diseases.

This well conducted study used a dummy pill and hence the results are usually expected to be quite reliable.

About 25 800 participants were enrolled in the study and were followed up for an average of about 5 years.

This large study from United States found that vitamin D and omega 3 fatty acid supplementation taken for five years reduces the risk of developing autoimmune diseases.

References: Vitamin D and marine omega 3 fatty acid supplementation and incident autoimmune disease: VITAL randomized controlled trial
BMJ 2022; 376 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2021-066452 (Published 26 January 2022)
Cite this as: BMJ 2022;376:e066452. https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj-2021-066452

Disclaimer: Please note – This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is NOT a expert medical opinion on various topics. This blog is purely for information only and do check the sources where cited. Please DO consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant to you. The views expressed in this blog are NOT, in any way whatsoever, intended to be a substitute for professional advice. The blog is NOT previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed, in any way, by any organisation that the author is associated with. The views expressed in this blog likely represents some of the author’s personal views held at the time of drafting the blog and MAY CHANGE overtime, particularly when new evidence comes to light.

Can vitamins increase risk of cancer ?

Yes

Vitamins are absolutely essential nutrients and vitamin deficiency causes various illness.

But a high dose of vitamin, far too much than needed by the body, is also bad.

Everything in moderation is good. Even an abundance of a good thing is bad.

It is similar to food. Lack of food would cause starvation and even death in the extreme. But too much of food causes obesity and other health problems. Same principle applies to vitamins.

A Cochrane review looked at the ability of vitamins to prevent lung cancer. The review concluded that there is “no beneficial effect of supplements for the prevention of lung cancer and lung cancer mortality in healthy people”

Worryingly, the review also found that the following:

– Vitamin A supplements increase lung cancer incidence and mortality in smokers or persons exposed to asbestos”.

– Vitamin C increases lung cancer incidence in women.

– Vitamin E increases the risk of haemorrhagic strokes.

So if you are having a healthy balanced diet, be careful with vitamin supplements.

Drugs for preventing lung cancer in healthy people
Marcela Cortés-Jofré et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020.
Free PMC article

Disclaimer: Please note- This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is NOT a expert medical opinion on various topics. This blog is purely for information only and do check the sources where cited. Please DO consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant to you. The views expressed in this blog represent the author’s views held at the time of drafting the blog and may change overtime, particularly when new evidence comes to light. The blog is not previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any organisation that the author is associated with. The views expressed in this blog are not, in way whatsoever, intended to be a substitute for professional advice.

Can Vitamins and anti-oxidants increase the risk of breast cancer coming back?

Yes, Dietary supplements can be harmful.

Vitamins and Minerals are absolutely essential nutrients for a Healthy body and a Healthy mind. Anyone not eating a healthy balanced should look what nutrients they might be missing.

But on the other hand, taking too much of vitamins and minerals, when they are not needed, could be harmful to the body.

There is widespread use of dietary supplements during cancer treatment, in the hope they can reduce side effects but many do not think about the disadvantages.

An American study of Breast cancer patients undergoing Chemotherapy looked at the effect of taking dietary supplements such as anti-oxidants, iron, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Breast cancer patients who took the dietary supplements during chemotherapy were found be harmed by them. They had a higher chance of cancer coming back compared to people who did not take these supplements. The supplements also increased risk of death in those the supplements.

Beware supplements when used improperly, can be harmful.

Dietary Supplement Use During Chemotherapy and Survival Outcomes of Patients With Breast Cancer Enrolled in a Cooperative Group Clinical Trial (SWOG S0221)

Christine B. Ambrosone, PhD1; Gary R. Zirpoli, PhD2; Alan D. Hutson, PhD1; William E. McCann1; Susan E. McCann, PhD, RD1; William E. Barlow, PhD3; Kara M. Kelly, MD1; Rikki Cannioto, PhD, EdD1; Lara E. Sucheston-Campbell, PhD4; Dawn L. Hershman, MD5; Joseph M. Unger, PhD3; Halle C.F. Moore, MD6; James A. Stewart, MD7; Claudine Isaacs, MD8; Timothy J. Hobday, MD9; Muhammad Salim, MD10; Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, MD11; Julie R. Gralow, MD12; George T. Budd, MD6; and Kathy S. Albain, MD13

Disclaimer: Please note- This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is purely for information only and do check the the sources where cited. Please consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant to you.

The views expressed in this blog represent the author’s views held at the time of drafting the blog and is likely to change overtime, particularly when new evidence comes to light. The blog is not necessarily endorsed by any organisation the author is associated with and views are not substitute for professional advice.

Vitamin D reduces risk of advanced cancer in normal-weight individuals.

“An ounce of prevention better than a pound of cure” is certainly true when it comes to cancer prevention.

Vitamin D, the “sunshine” vitamin has been proven to reduce risk of advanced cancers an large American study.

The study presented at the ASCO ( American Society of Clinical Oncology) virtual scientific symposium in 2020,

“The VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) was a high quality study. The study randomly assigned patients to Vitamin D3 supplements and/or omega-3 fatty acid supplements and/or both or placebo in 25,871 men and women.

The study found that “vitamin D supplementation decreased risk of developing advanced cancers by 17% compared with placebo ”

“Omega-3 supplementation did not reduce the incidence of advanced cancer.”

Reference:

Vitamin D Reduces Incidence of Advanced Cancers in Normal-Weight Individuals. ASCO Annual Meeting 2020.

Disclaimer: Please note- This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is purely for information only and do check the the sources where cited. Please consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant to you.

The views expressed in this blog represent the author’s views held at the time of drafting the blog and is likely to change overtime, particularly when new evidence comes to light. The blog is not necessarily endorsed by any organisation the author is associated with and views are not substitute for professional advice.