Antioxidants and Cancer: What Is the Evidence?

Extract

A recent report from the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine recommended modest increases in dietary antioxidants but stopped far short of prescribing megadoses of vitamins and minerals to prevent cancer and other chronic diseases.

The April 2000 report highlights the chasm of uncertainty between the laboratory and epidemiologic evidence suggesting the benefits of antioxidants on one hand, and the lack of a scientific basis for specific recommendations on the other. So the most consistent advice remains: Eat fruits and vegetables.

The third in a series on dietary recommendations for U.S. and Canadian residents, the report expands on the Recommended Dietary Allowances that NAS has set since 1941. In some ways, it reflects a new approach to prescribing nutrient intake. The dietary reference intakes for the first time include not only RDAs (the amount of a nutrient needed to meet nutritional requirements), but also AIs (adequate intake) and ULs (tolerable upper intake levels).