Selenium may lower prostate cancer risk

Just because Bayer is being sued for making claims about selenium and prostate cancer prevention, that doesn’t mean the claims aren’t true.

I’m no fan of One A Day vitamins, and I’m certainly no fan of the international drug giant Bayer, but I think this lawsuit is very weak stuff.

Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) brought the suit against Bayer, claiming that ads for two of Bayer’s One A Day products aimed at older men “reinforced the false notion that selenium prevents prostate cancer.”

But in the advertising for these products, this is the claim made about selenium: “…emerging research suggests [it] may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.”

And that’s absolutely true. In fact, it happens to be the specific language that the FDA has approved for qualified health claims by makers of selenium-containing supplements.

CSPI is also completely off base in stating the “notion that selenium prevents prostate cancer” is false. Unproven? Maybe. False? No.

Years ago, in the e-Alert “Trace Mineral Key to Preventing Prostate Cancer” (12/5/01), I told you about a Stanford University study that demonstrated how men with low blood levels of selenium are four to five times more likely to develop prostate cancer than men with normal levels of the mineral. And that link has been reinforced over the years by other population studies that mostly came to the same conclusion.

Granted, one large intervention trial found that selenium combined with vitamin E didn’t prevent prostate cancer, but that study was flawed by the use of an inadequate form of E. The study was also stopped early because the results were, supposedly, conclusive. Which is absurd. You’re testing a potential preventive on a disease that’s notoriously slow-growing, and you stop it EARLY?

Sorry. That doesn’t wash.

You can find more information about selenium’s general cancer-fighting benefits in the e-Alert “Standing Guard” (10/5/06).

Talk to your doctor before adding selenium to your daily regimen.

Sources:
“Bayer Faces Lawsuit for Selenium Cancer Prevention Ads” Lorraine Heller, NutraIngredients-USA, 6/18/09, nutraingredients-usa.com
“Get Smart About Selenium and Prostate Cancer – Mineral Supplements May Help Prevent Disease, Studies Find” Karen Collins, R.D., MSNBC, 6/25/04, msnbc.msn.com