Dear Reader,
Someone at Reuters Health apparently wants you to stop taking
antioxidant supplements. Why? The reason seems clear. Just look at this
recent Reuters headline: "Antioxidants more likely to raise cancer
risk."
There you go. You don't want cancer, do you? Then don't take
antioxidants! Simple. Just one problem: This provocative headline is
wildly misleading. It's a seedy come-on, as false as the promise of a
carnival barker in a low-rent circus.
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Our annual tradition
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It appears that about once each year we can expect some inflammatory
reporting about the "dangers" of antioxidant supplements. And I've got a
feeling that no matter how many years this goes on, it's going to make
me angry every single time.
The basis for this year's absurd antioxidant attack is a study that
appears in the January 2008 issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Mayo
researchers conducted a meta-analysis of twelve clinical trials that
tested antioxidant supplements against placebos in the prevention of
cancer.
Let's look at a three key quotes from the study:
1) "Antioxidant supplementation did not significantly reduce total
cancer incidence…or mortality."
2) Selenium supplementation was associated with reduced cancer incidence
in men…but not in women…and with reduced cancer mortality."
3) "Beta carotene supplementation was associated with an increase in the
incidence of cancer among smokers…and with a trend toward increased
cancer mortality."
So let's say you're a headline writer for Reuters Health. How do you
read those findings and come up with a blanket statement like:
"Antioxidants more likely to raise cancer risk"?
Sure, beta-carotene supplementation is linked to higher cancer risk
among smokers – we've known that for some time now. But whenever this
link is "rediscovered," beta-carotene is made out to be the culprit, as
if cigarette smoking were some kind of harmless hobby with no negative
effects.
Smokers need to be aware of this link, obviously. But anyone who
believes that beta-carotene is the root cause of "a trend toward
increased cancer mortality" is smoking something other than cigarettes.
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Eat a peach
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The Mayo Clinic web site notes that the adverse effects of beta-carotene
"do not appear to occur" in smokers who eat foods high in beta-carotene
content. Hmm. The adverse effects "do not APPEAR to occur"? That's a
roundabout way of saying, "We have no clue." So, to be on the safe side,
should smokers avoid dietary sources of beta-carotene?
The best sources of beta-carotene are dark orange, yellow, and green
vegetables, and yellow fruits. So…carrots, spinach, and peaches –
should these be taken off the smoker's shopping list? Or should the
cigarettes get pitched in favor of antioxidant-rich foods?
(I won't pester smokers. I used to be one of them. When it comes down to
a choice between a peach and a cigarette, they know which one will do
them good and which will increase their cancer risk.)
In addition to noting that selenium supplements were linked to a 23
percent lower risk of cancer among men, the Reuters Health article also
states (toward the bottom of the piece) that vitamin E supplementation
was linked to a slightly lower risk of prostate cancer. So a perfectly
accurate headline would have looked like this: "Antioxidant supplements
may lower risk of some cancers."
Now how easy was THAT!?
Meanwhile, the negative and inaccurate headline was distributed by news
outlets around the world, convincing who knows how many readers that
daily supplements might cause cancer.
Absurd. As usual. And Reuters Health editors should certainly know
better.
****************************************************
Sources:
"Efficacy of Antioxidant Supplementation in Reducing Primary Cancer
Incidence and Mortality: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" Mayo
Clinic Proceedings, Vol. 83, No. 1, January 2008,
mayoclinicproceedings.com
"Antioxidants More Likely to Raise Cancer Risk" Reuters Health, 1/30/08,
reuters.com
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