Vitamin B Supplements Can Cause Lung Cancer in Men If Used in Excess, Claims Study

Men who take a high dosage of Vitamin B supplements have significantly higher chances of getting lung cancer. This is according to a new study conducted at the Ohio State University College of Medicine that was published on Tuesday.

The study's findings revealed that despite Vitamin B6 and B12 being found to have a protective effect against the disease, taking these supplements is a "double edged sword."

Ingesting supplements containing thousands of times the recommended dosage over a decade is associated with risk of contracting lung cancer among men and women by 30 to 40 percent.

Smokers, in particular, are at risk of increasing their chances of getting lung cancer. Smokers who take high doses of vitamins B6 and B12 are also as much as four times more likely to contract lung cancer compared to non-smokers.

The study was a conducted by the Ohio State University and the National Taiwan University. They pointed out that there is no need to take supplements as most Americans already get enough Vitamin B from their diet.

Americans mostly get their Vitamin B12 from animal products such as meat, eggs and milk. As for Vitamin B6, these are mostly found in fortified cereals, beef, chicken, fruits and starchy vegetables — all of which are staples in the American diet.

The researchers noted that half the adult population of the United States take at least one form of supplement. The people in the survey may have been taking supplements believing that extra doses of Vitamin B will stave off cancer.

However, Dr. Theodore Brasky, one of the researchers who conducted the study, insisted that the findings are only related to people who take abnormally high doses of Vitamin B6 and B12.

Other researchers also suggested that the findings were "overly dramatized" and should be taken with a grain of salt.