Supplements Do Harm For Cancer Treatment

We’ve been coached to substitute pills for food, to take one-a-day to boost, and enhance, and improve, and [insert miracle here].

But where does the coaching come from? Research science, carried out by independent research labs, does not support the incredible premise that we can improve on the miracle of our body mechanism with concentrated chemicals abstracted from their normal source (a.k.a., food).

Among the many examples, another comes from those treating cancer patients.

Supplements, given to individuals who are receiving cancer treatment, are either irrelevant or harmful, according to a new study.

The supplements to avoid are those with high levels of antioxidants, but “even green tea and vitamin A or E supplements can spell trouble,” said review author Dr. Brian Lawenda, clinical director of radiation oncology at Naval Medical Center in San Diego.

The supplements “may decrease the effectiveness of radiation or chemotherapy or even make the toxicities of these treatments worse,” Lawenda said. “I would recommend that you do not take these agents during chemo or radiation.”

In the new review, reported in the May 27 online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Lawenda and colleagues examined studies into antioxidants and cancer therapy.

The researchers found that only three studies on radiation and antioxidants relied on randomized controlled trials, which are considered the best way to compare medical treatments.