A long term study has proved that taking multivitamins can prevent cancer risks among older men.
The study conducted by Brigham and Women's Hospital which included 15,000 male physicians over the age of 50. It states that the risk of cancer can be lowered by 8 percent by consuming Centrum Silver multivitamin for an average of 11 years.
Alice Lichtenstein, Director of Tufts University Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory said that consuming multivitamins can be a modest benefit. Although, she found the results are interesting.
"We don't know whether those individuals were borderline deficient in any critical areas," she said.
Dr. J. Michael Gaziano, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the VA Boston Healthcare System said that consuming multivitamins is a modest reduction in the risk of cancer.
"It would be a big mistake for people to go out and take a multivitamin instead of quitting smoking or doing other things that we have a higher suspicion play a bigger role, like eating a good diet and getting exercise," Dr. Gaziano said.
Multivitamins help prevent nutritional deficiencies. Many Americans consume a daily dose of multivitamin to stay healthy. It's not always multivitamins or mineral supplements can help in preventing chronic diseases. And few recent results have also been below par. There also might be some harm linked to large doses of certain multivitamin.
Dr. E. Robert Greenberg, an affiliate at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle also added some inputs about the study and if the findings can be applied to others as well.
"It is a small overall effect, but from a public health standpoint, it could be of great importance," he said. "Other than quitting smoking, there's not much else out there that has shown it will reduce your cancer risk by nearly 10 percent."
Dr. David Chapin, gynecologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston who was also a part of the trial said he never had any faith in vitamins but now is willing to take them despite the modest benefit.
"A lot of studies make big news, but when you look at the nitty-gritty, they don't show all that much," Dr. Chapin said. "This was a very reliable study, it was very well designed and administered, and it went on and on and on."
