Can a daily vitamin pill cause skin Cancer?

Question from Jessica:

"Hi Warren, I like to read your blogs and Q&A as I truly believe your views are honest and fair. I saw this recent article published in the latest European Journal of Cancer Prevention 'Could a daily vitamin pill cause skin cancer? Scientists fear it could speed up tumour growth'. Please share your views about this report. Many thanks"

Response from Warren:

Hi Jessica, Thanks for your comments. Over the last 10 years I have lost count of how many articles have appeared in media suggesting that this supplement or that will reduce life expectancy or cause cancer.

In every case they have been discredited when the study is carefully examined by experts. Usually it is found that the results are substantially distorted. In most of these cases the objective has been determined before the study is even commenced, and many of them are funded either directly or indirectly by pharmaceutical interests in an effort to discredit natural therapies.

The interesting thing is that people remember the negative headlines, and it sticks. Later on when it is discredited the media don’t give it much coverage, and anyway the damage has been done, and the objective achieved.

I have not seen the details of this particular study as yet but we can be sure that there will be more info surface over the coming weeks. I personally think that it is nonsense and irresponsible scaremongering.

As a point of interest, you may have seen the blog that I did recently about my friend Russell who recently died of a brain tumor. Well, a few years ago when my wife and I were in Auckland, Russell insisted that we go and have a check up with a skin specialist to make sure that we did not have any skin cancers. He thought that I in particular should do that as I love the sun and spend a LOT of time in it. He had found a couple of skin cancers on himself which the Doctor removed.

Anyway, to appease Russell we went, and neither of us had anything that remotely could be considered cancerous. Here is the difference...Russell did not take vitamins or supplements but my wife and I took a lot.
I have no worries about getting skin cancers and in fact the supplements help me avoid getting burnt. I believe that it's actually the supplements I take that keep me free from skin cancers.

In the last 10 years I extensive research I have never seen anything credible that would suggest that any form of supplementation could contribute to cancer.

I would make one comment though and that is the importance of balanced supplementation. Some people do take excessive amounts of single ingredients or vitamins. I believe that could be harmful.

3 Responses

Mr. Warren
I would like to know which fish oil is good for my wife. She has arthritis and joint pain. She gets heat brunt. please help

abel October 13 2010

Hi Abel,

Any version of our <a href= http://www.xtend-life.com/product/Omega_3_DHA_Fish_Oil.aspx >
Omega 3 Fish Oil is OK. They all have the same fish oil in it, but the Premium and Ultra versions have some other ingredients. In your wifes case she may not need the extra ingredients although they are good for overall health. The decision as to which version is really an economic one.
I would suggest that she adds our <a href= http://www.xtend-life.com/product/Green_Lipped_Mussel_Powder.aspx >
Greenlipped Mussel Powder supplement to the fish oil as that is helpful for joint pain. Try using a double dose for a couple of months. If that is not potent enough then it would be worth her while to try our
<a href= http://www.xtend-life.com/product/Arthrit-Eze.aspx >Arthrit-Eze.

Warren Matthews October 14 2010

Disclaimer: I am no MD, I have no special knowledge or training in the field other than I privately find supplements and vitamins interesting and I am a big fan and supporter of high quality products.

I think the above notion is absurd. It would be like saying … by staying alive you will increase the chance of dying…
that is true, but completely irrelevant.

But that being said, the question itself provokes an interesting thought.

I have not read the mentioned article or any other article claiming any such thing, but I have pondered about the same: If cancer is a mutation of existing and still functioning cells, they must thrive on the same basics as normal cells do!? In other words; what is good for normal cells must be good for them as well … Fundamentally, I assume, this is the basic theory of chemotherapy (just opposite) to attack cells with the aim of killing the cancer cells first… In that case, there is some sense in making the host environment (your body) unfavourable to cancer cells and thereby cells in general. Naturally, such an advanced state strongly advocates strict medical control and procedure.

If I am correct above, I still find the notion criticised absurd. Because, to my knowledge, cancer mutated cells are not uncommon in any organism in everything from the smallest insect to the largest tree, and indeed in humans too: Our immune systems beat them off on a daily basis. It is only when our immune system fails or the cancer mutation is too vivid we risk the cancer diagnose. Or to say it differently; the key aim for surviving
any disease is to keep a strong and healthy immune system and this system truly needs its daily dose of vitamins and other supplements.

Jon Therkildsen October 09 2010

Leave a comment (all fields required)

Search