Taking too many vitamins pills 'increases risk of heart disease and cancer

Most people take vitamin tablets in the belief they will improve their health and protect them against disease.

But a new study has found popping too many supplements can actually increase the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Over the counter supplements are promoted for their health benefits but exceeding the recommended daily amount may have a counter effect, experts say.

Dr Tim Byers, of the University of Colorado Cancer Centre, said: 'We are not sure why this is happening at the molecular level.

'But evidence shows that people who take more dietary supplements than needed tend to have a higher risk of developing cancer.'

Two decades ago, research found people who ate more fruits and vegetables tended to have less cancer.

So Dr Bryers began to investigate if taking extra vitamins and minerals would further reduce the risk of developing the disease.

He said: 'When we first tested dietary supplements in animal models we found that the results were promising.

'Eventually we were able to move on to the human populations. We studied thousands of patients for ten years who were taking dietary supplements and placebos.

'We found that the supplements were actually not beneficial for their health.

'In fact, some people actually got more cancer while on the vitamins.'

One trial exploring the effects of beta-carotene supplements showed that taking more than the recommended dosage increased the risk for developing both lung cancer and heart disease by 20 per cent.

Folic acid, which was thought to help reduce the number of polyps in a colon, actually increased the number in another trial.

Evidence shows that people who take more dietary supplements than needed tend to have a higher risk of developing cancer

Dr Bryers said: 'This is not to say that people need to be afraid of taking vitamins and minerals.

'If taken at the correct dosage, multivitamins can be good for you. 

'But there is no substitute for good, nutritional food.'

He added most people get the daily recommended doses of vitamins and minerals in their diets by eating healthy meals.

He concluded: 'At the end of the day we have discovered that taking extra vitamins and minerals do more harm than good.'

The findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2015.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter