Kristal explained, vitamin E failed to show benefits in people: 'It looked good and it worked in a test tube, but it had absolutely no impact when tested in humans.' Sesso agrees. Substantial research had 'suggested that vitamin E would reduce not just cancer risk, but also cardiovascular disease risk,' said Dr. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant found in nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils that's also been studied extensively for disease prevention. 'Why would you take selenium if it's not going to help you?' 'There don't appear to be any compelling results or reasons to be taking selenium to prevent prostate cancer, or at least cancer in general, at this time,' Sesso advised.

And the most recent analysis even showed increased prostate cancer risk in some men. However, SELECT found no benefits in prevention of prostate cancer, said Dr. Sesso, which helped propel the launch of the SELECT trial, the largest prostate cancer prevention study to date that tested the effects of selenium and vitamin E. However, 'the selenium trial that was done years ago in people to prevent recurrence of skin cancer actually increased the recurrence of skin cancer,' said Alan Kristal, DrPH, a faculty member in the Public Health Sciences Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.įurther analysis suggested a prostate cancer risk benefit, said Dr. It's another antioxidant that's been evaluated in high doses to see if it could protect against chronic diseases like cancer. Selenium is a trace mineral Americans usually get enough of from breads, grains, meat, poultry, and fish. 'I'm not aware of any real reasons why someone would want to still consider taking these supplements,' Sesso said. Toxicity can result from high doses of vitamin A because the body stores rather than gets rid of excess amounts.

Some studies even suggested an increased risk for lung cancer in people who took them, especially in men who smoke, he added. However, these trials testing individual beta-carotene supplements – as well as vitamin A – offered 'pretty compelling evidence that the potential benefits were not real,' said Dr. Sesso, ScD, MPH, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. It's a great example of a nutrient that in the 1960s and 1970s was thoroughly investigated in animal studies, and even in some human observational studies that suggested 'greater amounts of beta-carotene intake would result in a lower risk of cancer,' said Howard D. The body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A, a fat-soluble nutrient that protects cells from damage and that we need for eye, immune system, and skin health. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant responsible for the deep red-orange color found in carrots, sweet potatoes, and cantaloupe.

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