A recent study linking folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements with higher risks of cancer is misleading, claim two trade associations representing dietary supplement manufacturers and ingredient suppliers.
The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), revealed that heart patients in Norway,where foods are not fortified with folic acid, were more likely to die from cancer if they took folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements than those who did not take them.
Lung cancer rates were 59 per cent higher in those who took the supplements compared with those who did not, according to the study conducted at Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
But the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and the Health Food Manufacturers'Association(HFMA) claim that the research reveals the dangers of smoking not of taking folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements.
More of Folic acid study misleads claims supplement industry.