Antioxidants Prevent Cancer In Men

A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (2004, vol 164, no 21), found that long-term antioxidant supplementation reduced cancer incidence in men by 31 percent and all-cause mortality by 37 percent. French scientists administered a daily dose of either antioxidants or placebo to 13,017 French adult participants of the Supplementation en Vitamines et Mineraux Antioxydants (SU.VI.MAX) study. The daily dose of antioxidants provided 120mg of ascorbic acid, 30mg of vitamin E, 6mg of beta carotene, 100mcg of selenium, and 20mg of zinc. No major differences were detected between the groups of men and women in the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease or all-cause mortality.

At the end of the study (7.5 years), researchers found that antioxidant supplementation reduced cancer incidence and all-cause mortality in men but not in women. "Supplementation may be effective in men only because of their lower baseline status of certain antioxidants, especially of beta carotene," the study authors conclude.