The health community was energized in recent years when research hinted that basic vitamins might ward off prostate cancer. Prevention in a bottle? What could be better than that?
Well, lots of things, actually.
As it turns out, recent studies are finding that dietary supplements such as vitamin E and selenium won’t stave off the common cancer. One study of 300,000 men even found those who took more than seven multivitamins a week were more likely to develop an aggressive prostate cancer – and had twice the risk of dying from the disease.
Other recent research echoes these findings. A much anticipated large-scale federal trial of selenium and vitamin E supplements found they do not prevent prostate cancer, and could potentially be harmful. Researchers noted that men over age 50 who were taking vitamin E were slightly more likely to develop prostate cancer. And those who took selenium had higher rates of type 2 diabetes.