Ditch energy drinks? High doses of vitamin B supplements could raise cancer risks

Energy Drinks

Aย report published in theย Journal of Clinical Oncologyย shows that male smokers who took high dose vitamin B6 and B12 supplements โ€“ often marketed as energy boosters and present in energy drinks โ€“ had three to four times the risk of developing lung cancer, compared to men who did not take the vitamin B supplements.

โ€ฆ

Vitamin B supplements are marketed as boosting energy. Often they come at extraordinarily high doses. The recommended daily allowance for vitamin B6 for men is only about one and a half milligrams, and for vitamin B12, itโ€™s less than two and a half micrograms per day.

โ€ฆ

Men who had taken a high dose of vitamin B6 greater than 20 mg per day for ten years (the recommended daily allowance is 1.7mg/day) were at an 80% higher risk of lung cancer.

When it came to Vitamin B12, those who had taken greater than 55 micrograms per day (RDA is 2.5 micrograms per day) were at a 98% greater risk of lung cancer.

โ€ฆ

Vitamin B6 and B12 are involved in the so-called โ€œone carbon pathwayโ€ that is crucial for synthesizing and regulating DNA. Exposure to such high levels could disrupt the regulation of cell growth and lead to cancer.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:ย High dose vitamin B supplements linked to lung cancer in smokers

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}

Related Articles

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Does glyphosateโ€”the world's most heavily-used herbicideโ€”pose serious harm to humans? Is it carcinogenic? Those issues are of both legal and ...

Most Popular

Picture1-5
Science Disinformation Gap: The transatlantic battle over social media and censorship
Screenshot-2026-04-23-at-11.00.36-AM
Regulators' dilemma: Thalidomide, Metformin, and the cost of getting drug approvals wrong
ChatGPT-Image-May-12-2026-08_39_41-PM
GLP podcast: Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Foodโ€”health harming industries or life-saving innovators?
Screenshot-2026-05-12-at-9.58.31-PM
'He seems fine': Marty Makary out as FDA commissioner
ChatGPT Image May 10, 2026, 08_16_59 PM 2
Overmedicalization? RFK Jr.โ€™s antidepressant crackdown raises conflict questions over his fee stake in Wisner Baum, the tort firm built on suing drug makers
Screenshot-2026-05-12-at-10.05.11-AM
Pro-vaccine โ€œheroโ€ vs. an anti-vax โ€œvillainโ€: โ€˜Bad Vaxxโ€™ video stirs MAHA backlash
Picture1-1
Cooling the planet with balloons: Could a geoengineering gamble slow global warming?
Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-1.29.41-PM
Viewpoint: What happens when whole grains meet modern food manufacturing? Labels donโ€™t tell the whole story.
ChatGPT-Image-Apr-13-2026-02_20_22-PM
Viewpoint: Misinformation infodemic? Why assessing evidence is so challengingย 
ChatGPT Image May 12, 2026, 10_19_00 AM 2
Viewpointโ€” 'Muscular governance': How authoritarianism is surging corporate-linked energy misinformation
Screenshot-2026-05-11-104424
Hantavirus outbreak research: Trump administration shut down study last year on rodent-to-human transmission
images
The never-ending GMO debate: Pros and cons
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.