vitamins can prolong life? Possibly under certain conditions.
Friredrichsdorf, Germany, 2011- August/PRNewswire / – do can antioxidant vitamins such as vitamins C, E and provitamin to (beta-carotene), prevent cancer and other chronic diseases and prolonging life? A recent study provides evidence that vitamins could play an important role in the prevention of such diseases. For the study, the researchers examined 23.943 men and women as part of a pan-European research project for the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg (1). The results of the study observacionalindicaron that participants already regularly taking antioxidant vitamins before the study presented a risk clearly less of death by cancer and mortality in general than subjects who did not use vitamin supplements. Have been numerous works about the pros and cons of the vitamins and minerals as supplements to prevent diseases related to lifestyle (e.g., cancer and cardiovascular disease) or to protect against the risk of mortality in general, and today this subject continues to be cause for discussion. given that the prevention and the development of these chronic diseases están subject to many factors, is usually difficult to prove what exactly it acts preventively. Longevity is determined by the various elements that make up the lifestyle and genetic factors. The study showed that people who consume dietary supplements seem to be more aware with health and lead more active lives.
To explain the inconsistency of the studies carried out in this field, the researchers cited several reasons. In addition to the main problem posed by the difficulty of measuring or even test in clinical trials the preventive effects of micronutrients, another aspect apparently decisive is the supply situation of vitamins of the participants at the beginning of the study. According to this, an extra contribution of vitamins would not increase the preventive effect in participants who already from the beginning have an adequate supply. These supplements appear to benefit only people with deficiencies of vitamins.
Genetic factors may also affect the action and the need of vitamins. Recent studies show that people who hold certain genetic variants (poliformismos) of the enzymes responsible for the metabolism of vitamins can make use of these micronutrients only on a limited basis (2,3). Similarly, individuals who are not so unusual genetic variants have a greater need for vitamins and therefore benefit from an additional intake.
According to experts, when interpreting the results of studies that point to first view of a possible link between an increase in the intake of vitamins and adverse health effects, is essential to take into account other possible triggers and the moment in which appear the disease. In this paper, for example, participants who began taking vitamins during the study presented an increased risk of mortality. In the opinion of the researchers, this was not due to the effect of vitamins, but to the fact that these people began to take vitamin supplements only after they violently during the study, it already was too late to benefit from their potential preventive effects.
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References:
1. Li k. et to the. Vitamin/mineral supplementation and cancer, cardiovascular, and all – cause mortality in a German prospective cohort (EPIC-Heidelberg). European Journal of Nutrition. July 2011.
2 Blum et S. to the. Vitamin E reduce cardiovascular disease in individuals with diabetes mellitus and the haptoglobin 2-2 genotype. Pharmacogenomics. 2010; 11 (5): 675-684.
3. Eric B. Rimm and Meir j Stampfer. Folate and cardiovascular diseases one size does not fi t all.
