Taking a multivitamin every day can reduce your risk of developing cancer-but the protective effect is only slight. It should be part of a strategy that also includes eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, say researchers.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School found that a multivitamin had a “modest but significant” protective effect against cancer after they tested it on a group of 14,461 men, half of whom took one every day for 14 years, and the rest were instead given a dummy pill, or placebo.
There were 17 cancers among the group taking the multivitamin, and 18 cancers in those taking the placebo.
Around a third of adults take a multivitamin every day, but it’s not enough on its own, and shouldn’t replace a healthy diet of fruit and vegetables, say the researchers.
(Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, 2012; published online, 18 October, 2012).
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