Back in 2007, a group of French scientists published a study suggesting that women who take antioxidants are four times more likely to develop melanoma. This study scared a lot of people -- especially women -- out of taking selenium, zinc, and beta carotene as well as other antioxidants.
Thankfully, a group of scientists in the U.S. set out to debunk the French study. They published their findings in the August issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
And what do you know…
The French study was just plain rubbish. In fact, according to Maryam Asgari, MD, MPH, and lead author of the U.S. counter-study, their methodology was completely flawed!
First off, the French study involved just 13,000 men and women. Not bad, really. But the U.S. study, on the other hand, was much larger. They looked at the vitamin intake and rates of skin cancer for more than 70,000 men and women. They found no link whatsoever between antioxidant use and increased risk of skin cancer.
Plus, the French scientists only looked at men and women who agreed to answer a single question on their lifetime sun exposure. This strict limitation placed on the selection process clearly skewed the data, according to the new study‘s authors.
Lastly, the U.S. study reiterates the findings of dozens of well-respected studies over the years that have found zero connection between antioxidants and skin cancer. Clearly, the French study was just a fly in the ointment and a poorly-conducted study at best.
Just goes to show you that even so-called scientific facts are much more open to interpretation than most of us would think. In any case, keep up with the antioxidants. Not only will they NOT give you melanoma, they‘ll actually protect you against a whole slew of other cancers as well! |
