November 5th, 2008
B vitamins and folic acid offer no cancer protection
Last week I reported on how the special mix of vitamins in One a Day Mens’ Health don’t really help the prostate.
Now it turns out the mix in One a Day Womens’ Health doesn’t hit one of its claimed targets either, namely the prevention of breast cancer.
A Harvard study of B6, B12 and folic acid, aimed at reducing breast cancer risk in women with high risks of heart problems, had no effect. One trial even raised the question of side effects.
All this is going into the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study ran for over 7 years and involved giving women either the vitamin or a placebo. Only those over 65 seemed to have a lower rate of cancer, the study found.
We usually think of the late 19th century as being the height of the patent medicine craze, and we have a good laugh on it. Are we in a second such golden age?
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 11/05/08
