A Narrative Review of the Safety of Anti-COVID-19 Nutraceuticals for Patients with Cancer
Interest in dietary supplements and their efficacy in treating and preventing disease has increased greatly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the risk of severe COVID-19 in patients with cancer, we conducted a narrative review aiming to better understand the data on the safety of t...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Cancers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/23/6094 |
| _version_ | 1797507954122948608 |
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| author | Karlen Stade Bader-Larsen Elisabeth Anne Larson Maria Dalamaga Faidon Magkos |
| author_facet | Karlen Stade Bader-Larsen Elisabeth Anne Larson Maria Dalamaga Faidon Magkos |
| author_sort | Karlen Stade Bader-Larsen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Interest in dietary supplements and their efficacy in treating and preventing disease has increased greatly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the risk of severe COVID-19 in patients with cancer, we conducted a narrative review aiming to better understand the data on the safety of the most efficacious “anti-COVID-19” nutraceuticals for patients with cancer. We conducted a PubMed database search aimed at identifying the most effective nutrients for use against COVID-19. For the identified nutraceuticals, we searched PubMed again regarding their safety for patients with cancer. Fifty-four total records (52 independent studies) were retrieved, pertaining to vitamin D, vitamin C, selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc. Vitamin D results from 23 articles indicated safe use, but two articles indicated potential harm. All 14 articles for vitamin C and five out of six articles for selenium indicated the safety of use (one study for selenium suggested harm with high-dose supplementation). Results for omega-3 fatty acids (seven articles) and zinc (one article), however, were rather mixed regarding safety. We conclude that vitamin D, vitamin C, and selenium supplements are likely safe or even beneficial at typically recommended doses; however, caution is urged with omega-3 fatty acid supplements, and zinc supplements should likely be avoided. More experimental research is needed, and nutraceutical use by patients with cancer should always be under the supervision of a healthcare team. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:55:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e524f0822f224ff881a29c31848031ce |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6694 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:55:44Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cancers |
| spelling | doaj.art-e524f0822f224ff881a29c31848031ce2023-11-23T02:14:30ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942021-12-011323609410.3390/cancers13236094A Narrative Review of the Safety of Anti-COVID-19 Nutraceuticals for Patients with CancerKarlen Stade Bader-Larsen0Elisabeth Anne Larson1Maria Dalamaga2Faidon Magkos3Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg, DenmarkDepartment of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg, DenmarkDepartment of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg, DenmarkInterest in dietary supplements and their efficacy in treating and preventing disease has increased greatly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the risk of severe COVID-19 in patients with cancer, we conducted a narrative review aiming to better understand the data on the safety of the most efficacious “anti-COVID-19” nutraceuticals for patients with cancer. We conducted a PubMed database search aimed at identifying the most effective nutrients for use against COVID-19. For the identified nutraceuticals, we searched PubMed again regarding their safety for patients with cancer. Fifty-four total records (52 independent studies) were retrieved, pertaining to vitamin D, vitamin C, selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc. Vitamin D results from 23 articles indicated safe use, but two articles indicated potential harm. All 14 articles for vitamin C and five out of six articles for selenium indicated the safety of use (one study for selenium suggested harm with high-dose supplementation). Results for omega-3 fatty acids (seven articles) and zinc (one article), however, were rather mixed regarding safety. We conclude that vitamin D, vitamin C, and selenium supplements are likely safe or even beneficial at typically recommended doses; however, caution is urged with omega-3 fatty acid supplements, and zinc supplements should likely be avoided. More experimental research is needed, and nutraceutical use by patients with cancer should always be under the supervision of a healthcare team.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/23/6094cancernutraceuticalssupplementsCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2 |
| spellingShingle | Karlen Stade Bader-Larsen Elisabeth Anne Larson Maria Dalamaga Faidon Magkos A Narrative Review of the Safety of Anti-COVID-19 Nutraceuticals for Patients with Cancer Cancers cancer nutraceuticals supplements COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 |
| title | A Narrative Review of the Safety of Anti-COVID-19 Nutraceuticals for Patients with Cancer |
| title_full | A Narrative Review of the Safety of Anti-COVID-19 Nutraceuticals for Patients with Cancer |
| title_fullStr | A Narrative Review of the Safety of Anti-COVID-19 Nutraceuticals for Patients with Cancer |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Narrative Review of the Safety of Anti-COVID-19 Nutraceuticals for Patients with Cancer |
| title_short | A Narrative Review of the Safety of Anti-COVID-19 Nutraceuticals for Patients with Cancer |
| title_sort | narrative review of the safety of anti covid 19 nutraceuticals for patients with cancer |
| topic | cancer nutraceuticals supplements COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/23/6094 |
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