More on Vitamin Supplements

Not long ago I wrote about vitamin and antioxidant supplements. (See: http://www.healthyjewisheating.com/2009/05/dietary-supplements-good-bad-and.html)

There's a tremendous amount of research being done on the subject. Recently two more articles caught my attention:

Vitamin Supplements and Exercise

"If you exercise to promote health, you shouldn't take large amounts of antioxidants," says Dr. Michael Ristow, a nutritionist at the University of Jena in Germany. He tested the metabolic effects of moderate doses of vitamins C and E on young men who were exercising.

The vitamin supplements seem to have cancelled out some of the positive effects of exercising.

"… antioxidants in general cause certain effects that inhibit otherwise positive effects of exercise, dieting and other interventions," said Dr. Ristow.

He emphasized that the effects are only seen with supplements and not with eating fruits and vegetables.

Antioxidants and Breast Cancer

Among women being treated for breast cancer, over 60% recently reported that they were taking antioxidant or vitamin supplements during treatment. Most of them were taking high doses – more than what you'd find in common multi-vitamin pills.

Here's the problem: Research suggests that high doses of antioxidants (like vitamins C and E, selenium and beta-carotene) may actually interfere with radiation and some types of chemotherapy.

The American Cancer Society has recommended for years that vitamins and other supplements not be used during cancer treatment. They do suggest that eating lots of fruit and vegetables may be beneficial before, during and after cancer treatment.