Multiple studies have proven the link between many synthetic forms of vitamins to increased cancer risk; meanwhile the natural forms carry a decrease cancer risk. For example, synthetic folic acid and chromium picolinate have been proven to show such issues. Remember, these natural forms can be attained easily via diet.
As mentioned in my previous article (“What people think eating healthy means vs. what it really means?”), many choose to fill the diet with low nutrient density food which include breads, pasta or rice. You will barely attain your required vitamin and mineral needs for optimal function with these foods. The diet should be nutrient rich vegetables and nutrient dense animal products. The amount of vitamins and minerals you attain from animal products far surpass any fruits or vegetables. All diet should have organ meats in them. If you do not enjoy the taste of organ meats, you can get liver in powder or pill form as well. A serving of 4 oz. can equal to 5 lbs. of various fruits in vitamin content as example. A well balanced diet with lots of meat, some organs, and collagen is essential for acquiring adequate micronutrients!
If you think you require multi-vitamins, you really need to look into your diet and figure out the foods of said nutrients you need. Are you low on potassium? One cup of cooked spinach contains 900 mg of potassium and one cup carrot juice around 500 mg.
Understand that nature has everything established perfectly the way the body needs each nutrient. For instance, no food contains 600 mg calcium in one small serving like a multi-vitamin. And high dose calcium is proven to displace other minerals, therefore making the multi-vitamin a great calcium pill displacing the other minerals present in it. Consuming a multi-vitamin also keeps magnesium levels low, which already is a low status mineral in our diets that is a cause of major health issues. Westerners consume 1000 mg calcium a day but with very low magnesium levels and yet have high prevalence of osteoporosis. Does it make any sense with the present trend of markets to sell calcium fortified orange juice and calcium fortified milk?
Cultures like Japan consume 200 mg calcium a day, which is about 1/5th of what Westerners consume but at the same time consume over double the amount of magnesium Westerners procure from their diet. The incidence of osteoporosis among the Japanese is less than half of rates faced by Western cultures. It is not that copious studies indicate importance of adequate magnesium in the diet is essential for bone health but just overdosing on calcium alone has proven to be useless for bone health. Yet we are still told to eat more calcium when studies show otherwise?
So as you can see, a multi-vitamin is not only a great calcium pill which depletes other minerals we need in our diet but also has great proven cancer risk. When one could have just gotten all of the essential micronutrients from diet the first place, but instead we choose to avoid the nutrient dense food, consume a majority of nutrient void foods and hope that a magic pill would keep us healthy.