Beta Carotene Supplements and lung cancer

[SEANML]

So I crossed over an article ( I was a smoker for years) and it states if we use this vitamin we are increasing out lung cancer risks. Yup back onto my old health anxiety. Freaking out because I took that supplement for 3 years in a multi vitamin. So stressed. Has anyone else read this scary mess?

*Need to be talked down freaking out :(

[Fishmanpa]

Based on your recent posts, its apparent you're really having a tough time. Maybe you can speak to your doctor about adjusting med dosages or reach out to a mental health hotline.

Hope you feel better soon.

Positive thoughts

[SEANML]

thank you. i am trying

[panic_down_under]

So I crossed over an article ( I was a smoker for years) and it states if we use this vitamin we are increasing out lung cancer risks. Yup back onto my old health anxiety. Freaking out because I took that supplement for 3 years in a multi vitamin. So stressed. Has anyone else read this scary mess?

There was a large scale study run over a decade ago that set out to prove high dose beta-carotene supplements would prevent lung cancer. It was set to run for many years but they had to terminate it after only a couple because it soon became evident the supplements were promoting cancer, not preventing it. :oopsie: :ohmy: And it's not alone. The evidence is accumulating that high antioxidant doses are more likely to encourage than inhibit cancers, possibly by helping cancerous cells hide (https://www.popsci.com/article/science/antioxidant-supplements-worsen-lung-tumors-study-finds/) from the body's immune system. Eating a healthy diet is going to do more for your health than popping supplements. Getting beta-carotene from carrots will not only be safer, but probably also more effective and cheaper.

The whole alternative 'medicine' industry is built on mostly BS, lacking scientific credibility and poorly regulated. The only reason herbal supplements are considered safer than pharmaceuticals is because no one is monitoring them. We will never know now many ex/smokers died because they believed beta-carotene would protect them. It is likely to be in the many thousands. Years ago the U.S. FDA had a website for reporting adverse effects from supplements and it was obvious from the reporting that there were serious issues with some supplements and/or brands. The alternative medicine industry, which is nearly as big as the pharmaceutical industry btw, donated a lot of money to politicians to have the site shut down and to prevent the FDA from monitoring adverse effects in the future. </soapbox>

Fortunately, if you were taking it in a multivitamin the beta-carotene dose was probably well below that given in the study and thus likely harmless.

Fwiw, I smoked for about a decade from my late teens and also had considerable occupational exposure to asbestos and carcinogenic chemicals so my then GP and I decide to begin regular chest x-rays every 2-3 years beginning when I hit 50. The second one detected a 10-12mm nodule in my left lung. Nodules that small have rarely metastasized so surgery is curative in over 90% of cases. Once they grow to over 20mm the survival odds begin to diminish and by the time most begin to display symptoms it is usually too late for surgery with 5 year survival rates dropping to around 12%. That's worse odds than playing Russian roulette with 5 bullets in the chamber!

If you smoked for decades then consider having regular chest x-rays, perhaps from age 60. The earlier cancer is detected the greater the survival odds. These days the radiation dose from chest x-rays is very low, about 0.02 mSv. Normal background radiation is about 2.2 mSv/year (up to 7 mSv in Cornwall).

[SEANML]

I have a multivitamin that states that the beta is from natural sources. Not sure if that would mean anything (as vitamins can say anything)

Thanks for the amazing input by the way

[panic_down_under]

I have a multivitamin that states that the beta is from natural sources. Not sure if that would mean anything (as vitamins can say anything)

Indeed they can. I don't think the source matters much. It's more that supplements deliver a much higher dose than we normal get from eating carrots, etc, plus maybe also that it is taken in isolation from all the other chemicals found in them which might moderate, or alter how beta-carotene acts on the immune system. But this is all speculation. I don't think anyone really knows why antioxidants seem to be doing the opposite of what the hypothesis says they should. A lot of the alternative medicine industry's claims are well beyond what science has proven.

[SEANML]

Indeed they can. I don't think the source matters much. It's more that supplements deliver a much higher dose than we normal get from eating carrots, etc, plus maybe also that it is taken in isolation from all the other chemicals found in them which might moderate, or alter how beta-carotene acts on the immune system. But this is all speculation. I don't think anyone really knows why antioxidants seem to be doing the opposite of what the hypothesis says they should. A lot of the alternative medicine industry's claims are well beyond what science has proven.

Thanks for your amazing input my friend. You have been of great help. I wont be taking a multivitamin again anytime soon. They all contain that vitamin sadly.

[Fishmanpa]

Certainly that's your choice but as with your 2nd hand smoke fear, its blown way out of proportion.

Positive thoughts

[SEANML]

darn an other scare I took lutein until today at high doses as well argh why is so many evil things happening to me.Now all I can think is I have lung cancer and should get a screening! Im only 32 argh my mind is so nutty lately. Also waking 5000iu vitamin d for years