Women stand by their vitamins

Reports of a link between multivitamin pills and breast cancer are not enough to stop Tauranga women taking the supplements.
A Swedish study found women who regularly took the supplements faced a higher risk of breast cancer.
The study looked at more than 35,000 women aged between 49 and 83 during a 10-year period, and found women who took daily multivitamin pills were nearly 20 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer.
But the findings have already been refuted by experts including a leading Australia cancer researcher, who said the Swedish study was "barely statistically significant".
Tauranga Breast Cancer Support Service co-ordinator Julie Blake said while she could not comment on the Swedish study, conflicting information was "incredibly confusing" for women.
"Breast cancer is obviously a leading cause of death among women, it's the most common cancer for women," she said.
"You hear something like that, and you just wonder, 'what should I be doing?'
"The next week, another study will come out, saying 'of course you need your multivitamin'.
"It's the same with so many other things that come out and are reported in the paper."
Women felt overwhelmed at the information, she said.
But the best breast cancer prevention advice remained regular self-checks and mammograms, together with eating a balanced diet, keeping a healthy weight, getting regular exercise and not smoking.
"I don't think we should be made to feel guilty if you don't take a multivitamin, and I don't think you should be made to feel guilty if you do take a multivitamin."
The Swedish study was not enough to stop Jude Randell taking her multivitamins.
The owner of Bethlehem Health & Tea Shop had been taking the pills for "years and years and years". She had no plans to stop taking or selling the pills.
Studies could be misleading, Mrs Randell said, as there could be "so many other factors" affecting results.
"Statistics can always be manipulated, and perhaps the Swedish study needs to be looked into further - who funded the study? Was it a double blind study? What vitamins did they use and where did they come from?"
Mrs Randell said there was a "huge range" in the quality of vitamin tablets.
"I believe that natural vitamins from good quality fresh fruit and vegetables are always best. However, our food sources often lack these essential vitamins, and supplementation is often necessary."
And when it came to supplements, Mrs Randell believed minerals were more important than vitamins.
"Our body can make many vitamins - it cannot make minerals."
Papamoa woman Claire George has been taking multivitamin pills most of her life.
Now four months' pregnant, Mrs George currently takes a pregnancy multivitamin, as well as Berocca, B complex and vitamin C.
The latest studies have not put her off her daily tablets.
"I've heard a few different things like that before," she said.
 "It's a bit worrying that it relates to women and cancer, and a lot of people [ask] how do we know what's in them? You are really trusting the label."
Mrs George, 29, believed supplements were necessary in order to get all the necessary vitamins and minerals.
"A lot of people will say a balanced diet should give you what you need, but because of the way we store vegetables and cook them and the nutrients in the soil, We are not getting enough out of them anymore."
Natural Products New Zealand (NPNZ), the industry body representing a significant proportion of New Zealand natural health product manufacturers, said consumers should not be alarmed over the study.
NPNZ questioned the validity of the study and believes that consumers should not stop taking their multivitamins.
Michelle Palmer, executive director of NPNZ, said the Swedish survey of 35,000 women was not conclusive and contained several limitations.
"The fact that the whole study is based on a self-administered questionnaire means there is a high possibility of difficulty in accurately recalling details, and errors in classification by the researchers, leading to skewed results," Ms Palmer said.
"There are no details on types of multivitamins provided for this study, and the researchers were not able to identify the components of multivitamins that may be responsible for the possible association.
"There are many more robust studies whose findings do not support this claim."
The Women's Health Initiative, which followed over 68,000 women for eight years, showed there was no association of multivitamin use and the risk of cancer.
And a population-based study published in 2009 found no association between multivitamin use and breast cancer.
Medical researcher Professor Shaun Holt said the findings of the Swedish study were inconclusive, and conflicted with other multivitamin studies.
Chef, TV personality and cookbook author Anne Thorp will speak at a Tauranga Breast Cancer Support Service meeting on Saturday.
The breast cancer survivor and star of TV show Kai Ora is an ambassador for the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation. The meeting will be held at 9.30am at the Tauranga Club, Hotel on Devonport. For more information phone Julie on 571-3346.