Men who take vitamin B supplements at greater risk of lung cancer

As per the new study, men who take high doses of vitamin B supplements like Vitamin B6 or B12 are at high risk of getting lung cancer as reported in daily Mail.

The B complex vitamins help red blood cells to process proteins, fats and carbohydrate. Vitamin B complex is available in natural foods like meat, fish, cheese, eggs, milk and cereals. But many people take supplements that are marketed as energy boosting products.

A study called Vital was carried out by the American researchers who examined 77,000 people aged between 50 and 76. Their aim was to understand the impact of vitamins and minerals on cancer risk.

The data was collected from participants’ vitamin B use and the amount of dose taken for over 10 years. The team found that the men who took high doses of B vitamins over the years are at high risk of cancer.

People with smoking habit who took more than 20 mg of vitamin B6 per day are three times more likely to develop lung cancer and the male smokers who take 55 mg of vitamin B12 are at greater risk of developing lung cancer.

Dr Theodore Brasky from The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Centre is the lead author of the study and reported to the Daily Mail that all the men who used Vitamin B supplements in high doses for more than 10 years have double the risk of developing lung cancer. And for the smokers the risk is three to four times greater. So by adding vitamin B supplements it can increase the risk of developing cancer if taken much more than the recommended amount.

He recommended the people not to take the Vitamin B supplements as we can get them naturally from consuming meats, cereal and chickpeas.

The risk was not same to the woman who takes vitamin B supplements and further research is needed to determine the effect is same for the post-menopausal women.

The UK’s National Health Service recommended dose of Vitamin B6 is 1.4 mg per day for men and 1.2 mg per day for women. And for B12 it is 1.5 mcg a day.