Many people regularly take vitamin, protein and mineral supplements. Even when plenty of food is available in the needed variety, these supplements are said to prevent deficiencies and illnesses. Often their consumption goes hand in hand with a belief in 'the more the better'. Due to their antioxidant properties, synthetic vitamins are reputed to affect health only positively, slow the aging process and enhance fitness and physical performance. The supplement manufacturers especially like to drive that point home in their advertising. Their claims go down particularly well with bodybuilders who hope to grow muscle mass quickly for the best possible training results. But they often end up taking a cocktail of vitamins and protein that far exceeds the daily recommended doses. For their part, the manufacturers can rarely offer reliable studies on their products’ efficacy.
In recent years, however, cancer researchers, nutritional experts and food chemists have been looking closer at the side-effects associated with taking these supplements. Extensive studies have shown that vitamin and protein supplements not only fail to achieve the desired effect, but can significantly increase the risk of cancer, asthma and allergies.
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