Cancer vitamins, supplements, and herbs are often used in an integrative cancer care program. Studies suggest that cancer patients during and after cancer treatments, as well as in remission, experience health benefits from these products. At the same time, evaluating cancer vitamins, supplements and herbs can seem really confusing.
Cancer patients need reliable cancer information about vitamins, supplements and herbs for several reasons.
1. Research demonstrates the need for supplementation. Studies indicate that cancer patients require additional nutritional support that cannot be provided by diet alone. Laboratory tests can help identify some nutritional deficiencies for individuals. This type of customized approach gives the body what it needs and at levels to address the deficiency.
2. Research indicates that certain cancer vitamins, supplements and herbs appear to offer a range of health benefits to people with cancer, including anti-cancer activity, improved quality of life during and after conventional cancer treatments, and even cancer survival. This cancer information was developed with a review of study results and included some scientific references.
3. Many claims exist for cancer vitamins, supplements and herbs regarding specific health benefits for conditions such as cancer. Unfortunately, many unreliable and false cancer-specific health claims are prominent on the Internet and elsewhere. Supplements and herbs, in general, constitute a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States alone. Some companies and providers lack integrity by promoting false cancer specific health claims.
4. Even for cancer vitamins, supplements, and herbs with demonstrated efficacy, tremendous variability exists in the quality of products between manufacturers.
How do you identify trustworthy sources? This information helps you to sort through the weeds and into better clarity. Please know that these cancer vitamins, supplements and herbs information do not cover the full scope of supplements and herbs used by and researched in people with cancer. Since resources here are continually expanding, more cancer information about vitamins, supplements, and herbs will be added in the future.
Antioxidants and Cancer Reviewed by Lise Alschuler, ND
Essential Fatty Acids and Cancer
You can learn more about Herbal Medicine and Cancer. Also, information about a plant substance used in cancer patients can be found in Mistletoe and Cancer.
