A recent warning has emerged from a UK charity, Killing Cancer Kindly (KCK), concerning the potential health risks associated with daily multivitamin tablets. The charity has unveiled startling findings suggesting that these commonly used supplements could augment cancer risk by a significant 30%. The alarm has been sounded to millions across the UK, advocating for a stringent health warning to accompany these multivitamins.
KCK has fervently urged the government to limit the accessibility of these supplements by making them prescription-only. The charity’s concern stems from the alleged inundation of the body with excessive nutrients, which supposedly act as a “superfood” for cancer cells, promoting their multiplication.
Dr Mohammad Muneeb Khan, an NHS oncologist spearheading the KCK group, described the situation as a “ticking time bomb”. He stressed that vitamins should be handled with the same prudence as antibiotics, advocating for their use solely among individuals with diagnosed vitamin deficiencies and only for the required duration to restore health.
According to Dr Khan, synthetic multivitamins are loaded with extremely high and essentially unnecessary volumes of micronutrients. This excessive supply far surpasses the average requirement of the human body, causing a struggle in organ function as they attempt to utilise these micronutrients.
He vividly describes a scenario where cancer cells, fuelled by excessive vitamins, multiply rapidly, akin to “hundreds of ravenous little Pac-Men”, eventually overpowering the body’s immune system and other anti-cancer defences.
Dr Khan has proposed a solution to curb this looming health threat. He suggests a reclassification of multivitamins as drugs, coupled with awareness campaigns regarding their side effects. This measure is seen as a precaution to ensure that individuals, both children and adults, are dissuaded from unnecessary vitamin supplementation, which, according to him, is redundant for most.
A notable study, the CARET trial, has been cited to underline the associated risks, revealing a nearly 30% escalated risk of lung cancer from daily supplementation of certain vitamins. Furthermore, other studies exploring the daily use of vitamin A and B complex supplements have exhibited a correlation with increased risk for various cancer types. However, there is a call for more research to determine the extent of this risk.
In a bid to delve deeper into this issue, a groundbreaking study is slated for next year. This study, conducted in partnership between KCK and an American university, aims to shed more light on the cancer risk posed by multivitamin supplements.
