"Vitamin supplements can increase risk of cancer and heart disease"
... Says a university blog reporting on a conference talk by a guy referring to 3 old studies (and this 2012 review ). My headline comes from the Guardian online [ 1 ]. It's pretty distorted (bad) reporting, but what it talks about is still very relevant: Smokers who have already done large amounts of DNA damage in their lungs should not super-dose supplemental vitamin A (in particular). High dose vitamin E supplementation increases risk of prostate cancer in those deficient in selenium. Vitamins can not cure cancer. In fact, folate in particular is like steroids for tumours; do not supplement with this (and certain other things) if you already have cancer! Basically, the name of the game is balanced your personal nutrition and avoiding deficiencies. Interestingly, the main reason most people on a 'standard diet' aren't deficient in most B-vitamins is because breakfast cereals are fortified with supplemental B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12 (and iron). You needn...