Many people take vitamin supplements believing that they are good for them.

According to an icWales article: Researchers have found that people who take antioxidant supplements, including vitamins A and E, to try to keep diseases such as cancer at bay, could in fact be interfering with their natural body defenses and may be increasing their risk of an early death by up to 16%.

A study review conducted by researchers at the Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark found that antioxidants actually appeared to increase mortality. The scientists examined the data of 67 randomized clinical trials with 232,550 participants.

It is important to remember that vitamins are medicine and this research reinforces the fact that "self medicating" by popping vitamins could damage your health. There is wide news coverage of the story:

CBC News, The Sun, Times Online, Radio Canada (en français)