Multivitamins taken on daily basis don’t seem to lower the risk of developing cancer in postmenopausal women, according to a study published in the current issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine.

 

Many people believe that taking antioxidants keeps them safe against cancers, but many studies have shown this is not the case. Having a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, may be an important enemy against cancer, as ‘natural’ vitamins have been shown to offer protection against damage caused by free radicals, which can harm cells, tissue and organs.

 

“The kind of vitamins you get from diet is quite different, because foods are very complex and have a lot of chemicals we don't know about that interact with each other. [Eating a varied diet] is not the same as distilling it into a pill. The message is to eat a well-balanced diet, exercise and maintain weight,” said study co-author Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, a professor of epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

 

The new study, which involved 161,800 postmenopausal US women, appears to support the idea. The women were followed for a period of 8 years. About 42 percent of them reported taking multivitamins. After adjusting for age, physical activity, family history of cancer and many other factors, the study found that multivitamins had no effect on the risk for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, heart attack, stroke, blood clots or mortality.

 

“Multivitamins ... are not intended to be magic bullets that will assure the prevention of chronic diseases, like cancer,” Andrew Shao, vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, said.

 

Learn to live healthily! Have a balanced diet! Exercise anytime you have the chance! These are the three ‘magic’ bullets that will keep you away from chronic diseases.