Antioxidants have pleased a huge army of their fans with new data on the occurrence of side effects as a result of their use. As studies have shown, after taking dietary supplements containing antioxidants, the risk of fatal complications increases both in consumers leading a normal healthy lifestyle and in people with chronic diseases of various organs. This disappointing conclusion was unexpectedly reached by a group of scientists conducting observations under the leadership of Christian Gluyd from the Danish hospital in Copenhagen.
Christian Gluyd and his colleagues from Slovakia, Italy and other countries compared data from 78 medical studies, covering the observation of more than three hundred thousand people. A significant part, namely about 25% of those observed, suffered from various types of diseases of the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, nervous, endocrine system, as well as skin and eye diseases. More than 50% of the participants received supplements containing antioxidants, namely vitamins A, C, E, selenium, folic acid, beta-carotene, during the entire observation period, over several years. The observation results recorded that more than 10% of people died from the first group – about 19 thousand. In the control group, which numbered almost 115 thousand people, more than 10% died, namely about 12 thousand people. The dependence of mortality in the control groups is seen in approximately the following ratio:
– For vitamin A and C, the ratio was within the obtained statistical data and amounted to 10 to 11%.
– For vitamin E, the percentage was 12 and 10.5, respectively, for the general and control groups.
– Data on beta-carotene indicate 14 and 11.5 percent, respectively.
Swedish research data showed that the inclusion of vitamin E and another antioxidant, acetylcysteine, in the diet actively stimulates the shutdown of the tumor suppressor gene and significantly increases the risk of lung cancer in the near future.
Over the past few decades, scientists have long proven through countless observations that eating natural fresh foods significantly reduces the likelihood of developing cancer in the future. Based on this, an erroneous conclusion was made that high consumption of antioxidants, the content of which in fresh fruits is quite high, entails a kind of protection from the development of oncological pathologies. Following common sense and, as it turned out, misguided sense, the population voluntarily and on personal initiative took antioxidant forms of vitamins such as A, C, E in increased quantities. However, as recent experimental observations claim, the above antioxidants are capable of interacting with free radicals in the body of living beings and provoking the development of various types of cancer.
Since the 80s of the 20th century, studies have been repeatedly conducted in which observations of smokers taking vitamins A and C provoked a sharp increase in the occurrence of oncological complications in the control group, which eventually forced scientists to stop such experiments on people.
Similar observations were also conducted on those who took vitamin E, as well as the trace element selenium. Both of these elements quite noticeably, namely by 15-17% over the next 5-6 years, provoked an increase in the percentage of prostate cancer. For obvious reasons, they had to abandon the continuation of this experiment, among other things.
Experiments on mice genetically predisposed to lung cancer showed that the introduction of a substance called N-acetylcysteine, as well as vitamin E, not only did not have a positive effect on the course of the disease, but on the contrary, produced the opposite effect, provoking a rapid growth of tumor cells, which on average reduced the lifespan of mice by half, compared to the group that did not take the above antioxidants.
Folic acid was classified as a provocateur capable of causing cancer in the mammary glands of women. In Canada, scientists managed to trace the relationship between the development of cancer in patients taking folic acid and those who did without this remedy. The results of comparisons in different groups often came to the opposite conclusion. Taking folic acid can both reduce and accelerate tumor development. However, one of the groups of doctors from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto came to the conclusion that taking folic acid in a dosage of 2.5 mg per day definitely led to increased growth of cancer cells. The experiments were conducted on mice.
According to modern statistics, the greatest number of people die from cancer and complications associated with them worldwide. In this regard, this topic is very closely watched not only by medical workers, scientists, but also by ordinary people who are afraid to hear a disappointing diagnosis from a doctor. But it is worth remembering that most diseases of this type are considered age-related. And from a certain point, each person should regularly conduct diagnostic tests of their own body. It is very important to remember that a very large number of oncological diseases are now quite successfully treated or at least can be stabilized, which allows you to ultimately live a full, quality life. The most important thing is early detection of this serious illness!
Be healthy!
