CHARLES TAYLOR/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

US researchers suggest that a daily multivitamin could make a modest reduction in a man's risk of developing cancer.

 

A new study announced Wednesday finds that daily multivitamins may reduce the risk of cancer in middle-aged men.
 

The trial looked at nearly 15,000 men, 50 years old at the start of the study, who took multivitamins daily over the course of a decade. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School  found this daily habit led to a modest but "statistically significant reduction" in cancers. The study appears in the journal JAMA.
 

To reach their findings, the team analyzed data from the Physician's Health Study, the only large-scale, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial testing the long-term effects of a common multivitamin in the prevention of chronic disease. Men who took a multivitamin every day saw an eight percent reduction in total cancer incidence compared to men who took a placebo sugar pill.
 

"Many studies have suggested that eating a nutritious diet may reduce a man's risk of developing cancer," researcher Dr. Howard Sesso told the BBC. "Now we know that taking a daily multivitamin, in addition to addressing vitamin and mineral deficiencies, may also be considered in the prevention of cancer in middle-aged and older men."
 

A rat study published this February found that vitamin and mineral supplements in a regular diet may significantly cut the risk of colon cancer. Findings were published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology.