MULTIVITAMINS could increase cancer risk by 30 per cent and should carry a health warning, a charity claims.
Killing Cancer Kindly (KCK) is urging the government to make the supplements prescription-only and restrict their long-term use.
It says the products “bombard the body with huge doses of wholly unnecessary nutrients” which act as a “superfood” for cancerous cells, helping them to grow and multiply.
Natural vitamins in foods, meanwhile, pose no danger because they are absorbed slowly.
The body takes only what it needs before flushing out the rest.
KCK said “compelling” research exists to suggest a link between synthetic vitamin consumption and increased rates of lung, prostate, bowel and breast cancers.
NHS oncologist Dr Mohammad Muneeb Khan, who leads the group, said: “We face a ticking time-bomb.”
He said: “Like antibiotics, vitamins should be used sparingly, only being taken by those who have a diagnosed vitamin deficiency, and only for as long as required to restore them to health.”
Almost half of Brits are thought to take a daily supplement, which usually contain a broad spectrum of what manufacturers call ‘essential’ organic compounds.
These are said to help maintain normal metabolic function – the chemical reactions in our cells that change food into energy.
Our bodies need this energy to do everything from moving and thinking, to growing and repairing.
Until now, supplements were considered safe to use but unnecessary for anyone except those with recognised nutritional deficiencies.
Studies have long shown that a varied, balanced diet, provides all the vitamins the average person needs.
The risk is said to be the same for all adults regardless of whether they live an otherwise healthy lifestyle.
