Supplements may cause harm

Millions of people who take dietary supplements to ward off cancer may be toying with a “two-edged sword” that might do them harm, experts have warned.

A team of scientists in the United States said there was no good evidence that supplement pills and capsules reduced the risk of cancer in healthy individuals. They added that antioxidants, such as as beta carotene, and vitamins C and E might even have biological effects that promote cancer.

The American authors, writing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, argue that the supposed benefits of antioxidant supplements are largely a myth.