Study: Beware of Vitamins

[marmar]

from Truthdig:



Study: Beware of Vitamins

Posted on Apr 16, 2008


Health nuts, take heed: A sweeping review of almost 70 scientific studies of the health benefits of vitamins and, in particular, those trendy antioxidants, has found “no convincing evidence” of increased lifespan. In fact, vitamins A, E and beta-carotene could even increase a person’s chances of dying prematurely, according to scientists at Copenhagen University.

BBC:
A review of 67 studies found “no convincing evidence” that antioxidant supplements cut the risk of dying.

Scientists at Copenhagen University said vitamins A and E could interfere with the body’s natural defences.

“Even more, beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E seem to increase mortality,” according to the review by the respected Cochrane Collaboration.

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20080416_study_beware_of_vitamins/

[jojo54]

1. I'd rather trust vitamins

than the half-assed tested drugs the FDA is trying to shove down our throats!

[seabeyond]

but beyond this, there is more info that backs this up. not that i would suggest

anyone not taking vitamens. but this isnt just out of the blue.

[Warpy]

9. Drugs are targeted poisons

Don't take them unless you're damned sure you need them.

Big Pill is up to its earlobes in mink and Ferraris because of stupid people who clamor for all the targeted poison they see on the teevee.

Gulping vitamin pills gives you expensive urine from B vitamins and can be toxic with all the oil based vitamins: A, D and E.

Vitamin pill heads are getting the placebo effect. They could get the same effect from sugar pills sold as a magic cure.

The only vitamin anybody needs, and only when they're on a deficiency diet of one sort or another, is a multi with minerals. Otherwise, they're just paying for expensive pee and taking a chance with their health.

[BadgerKid]

11. Huh?

What do you think a multi is if not vitamins? Also, you can just as well get your minerals from food.

[Warpy]

14. Read the part that starts with "and only."

Thank you.

[MonkeyFunk]

24. trust them to do what?

[seabeyond]

2. i trusted myself and concluded same, .... a decade ago. staying informed, yet getting older

i have been weighing back and forth if i want to get back onto it and the feel is still a waste, giving body more than it needs of some things and keep it natural.....

thanks

validation, good stuff

[merwin]

5. You should probably get tested to see which vitamins you may be deficient in.

Then take those specific ones.

[seabeyond]

15. that would be interesting. i have never thought about that

heard about it, know that they do it. is it like a cholestral test?

[merwin]

31. It's a fecal and blood test.

A nutritionist should be able to do the test. The lab that would do the processing (i believe) is Metametrix.

[Avalux]

23. I am of the mind that anything not 'natural' is of little benefit.

I dont' trust vitamins from sources other than food; do my best to get them from food. If people eat properly, they shouldn't be deficient and therefore not need to supplement. :hi:

[seabeyond]

27. ya

:hi:

[merwin]

3. So "researchers" took info from numerous studies that all had different purposes,

focused on 4 vitamins, and couldn't come up with any conclusive evidence so they claim that vitamins don't work or are bad for you.

Damn, I'm just going to stop taking vitamins right now!

If these were real researchers, they would have done real studies on the benefits of a single vitamin. There's just no control with this one. It looks like they went in with a specific result in mind, and tried to prove the result.

[unpossibles]

4. I tend to get most of my vitamins from a well balanced diet

when I get sick I drink an EmergenC or two.

[fascisthunter]

6. It's Really Hard to Have Faith in Anything in America These Days

It's like walking through a "black market" with no regulation at all. And if you get duped, it's always your fault.... say the fascists who make a living screwing people.

[seabeyond]

16. yes. exactly. n/t

[lynnertic]

19. It's always been this way, I'm glad you're aware of it now.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Does that invalidate or negate eating a healthy diet that contains the same

vitamins, etc.?

[Indenturedebtor]

22. No

Does that invalidate or negate eating a healthy diet that contains the same
Posted by no_hypocrisy
vitamins, etc.?


Nope. And there have been studies coming out like this for a long time, dealing specifically with the "antioxidants". There are more than a few studies going on that are trying to explain some discrepancy in classic antioxidant- dogma, for example the fact that coffee - an OXIDANT actually has antioxidant effects.

The most promising explanation for the coffee problem, and studies like this one that poopoo antioxidants is that the body gets lazy when you smack it in the face with massive doses of antioxidants... It actually downregulates the production of its own antioxidants, much as the body does with things like Nicotine, and other addictive substances that work by mimicking endogenous chemicals in the body but taken at MUCH HIGHER doses. The body seeks balance! Now the coffee works the opposite way, almost like a vaccine. Kick the body with some oxidants and it responds by making more antioxidants! In moderation of course ;)

Kinda makes sense no?

But yeah it has ALWAYS been understood and validated through countless studies that it is FAR better to get your vitamins from a balanced diet. The slow release of these nutrients through digestion dont screw with the body, but makes sure that it has the tools it needs to go about its methodical and balanced business. Remember folks you can overdose on anything... even Water. Taking a quick release vitamin (ie any vitamin) releases WAY too much of a good thing into the body quickly.

[LSdemocrat]

8. This is really incomplete information to draw much from

Are they talking about any level of supplements, or is this based on taking supplements that go beyond the RDA guidelines?

[muriel_volestrangler]

33. Ones that go beyond the RDA guidelines

As far as the British Department of Health reads it, anyway. From the BBC story:

The Department of Health said people should try to get the vitamins they need from their diet, and avoid taking large doses of supplements - a market which is worth over £330m in the UK.

"There is a need to exercise caution in the use of high doses of purified supplements of vitamins, including antioxidant vitamins, and minerals," a spokesperson said.

"Their impact on long-term health may not have been fully established and they cannot be assumed to be without risk."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7349980.stm

[Phoonzang]

10. Eh, next week vitamins will be good for you...

n/t

[jeanruss]

12. phony science

Big Pharma is very concerned about people getting healthier. They have been drumming up these claims to stop people from taking control of their health. Most of these "studies" use poor quality synthetic vitamins and are sponsored by groups hostile to the vitamin industry. My husband and I have taken charge of our health for the last 6 years. At 53 and 59 years of age, we only take Armour thyroid(needed because of the effects of long years of fluoridated water) and no other medications at all. We use Megafood vitamins because they are whole food vitamins. There are many good brands of vitamins that are natural whole foods made from chemical free foods. Sadly, because of pesticides, most of our food has very low amounts of nutrients combined with alot of toxic chemicals. We eat organic food and still use vitamins because we feel better when we do. We have more energy now than we used to. Since we don't eat out much because we prefer organic food, it has saved us money. Eating out is expensive and unhealthy.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

20. I take Armour Thyroid too.

I don't believe the FDA. I think they're run by giant corporations.

And I have to fight tooth and nail with my doctors to get a prescription of a sufficient dosage that I feel like I have any energy at all. Doctors are brainwashed by the drug companies. They don't treat people's symptoms, they go by blood work and some arbitrary limit on how much thyroid they think people should take. If I am treated to symptoms I have to take 2-1/2 times as much as the doctor thinks I should. He thinks I will get heart palpitations on the dosage I take. I do not get heart palpitations.

A smart doctor I went to titrated the dosage I needed to feel good many years ago. That means to start with a low dosage and gradually increase it, and then come back down to the point where the patient feels good.

More info: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com


All these blanket statements about "you can get all the vitamins you need from a balanced diet" bug me. Now who in America has a balanced diet and gets all the vitamins and minerals they need from their food? Nobody I know. If they did, it would cost a fortune anyway.

Different people vary in the amount of a vitamin that they need. They may also need more than the RDA of a vitamin because they have an absorption problem. The RDAs are not set in stone. For example, you can take more Vitamin C than the RDA and not get sick.

You can even cure cancer with Vitamin C as sodium ascorbate IVs, but that's another fact that the FDA has suppressed for decades.

http://www.molecular-cancer.com/content/6/1/55

http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer02/VitaminC_IVC.html

http://www.infusionclinic.com/infusions-ascorbic.html

Glaxo is upset because their profits from their synthetic estrogen made from mare urine, Premarin, are going down, because of the breast cancer scare from synthetic estrogen. The drug companies and the FDA are trying to shut down compounding pharmacies which make bio-identical hormones. The FDA has sued five compounding pharmacies. Bio-identical hormones are chemically the same as the ones your body produces. They do not have the side effects that synthetic hormones have.

[El Pinko]

13. There are no specifics about dosage here.

There are people who take supplements that have 200-2000% of the USDA's recommended daily allowance.


I take a centrum a day - it basically has more less 100% of the RDA of most of the vitamins and minerals. I don't feel the need to OD on any vitamin, I just take the multivitamin to make sure I'm not missing any with my daily food intake.

[newfie11]

17. who paid for this study?

The RDA is the bottom amount of that vitamin before you show signs of deficiency. The fact an in utero deficiency of folic acid caused spina bifida was known for years before the "medical field" discovered it. The studies about vitamin c not working are a crock BECAUSE the right amount is not given per hour or intravenously to cure anything. Colds can be cure in just a few hours to one day. I know I have done it.However you must take vitamin c every hour.
Very few people in this day and age can get adequate vitamins from their diet. Unless you are growing you own food without chemical fertilizers and consuming quickly after picking it. That also depends on if your ground is not deficient in certain minerals. Yes you can survive usually with a few colds and maybe the flu. You can also take drugs to make you feel better and then more drugs to combat the side effects of the first one and so on. I am not totally against drugs. Some are lifesavers but come on people wise up and stop believing the crap that vitamins don't work!

[lynnertic]

18. it was a REVIEW of OTHER people's studies

from later in the article:

Another nutritionist who has formulated supplements described the review as a "stitch-up", arguing it only looked at studies which examined the effect they had on reducing mortality, rather than other advantages.

[rucky]

21. What was the method of administration?

What was the source of the nutrients?

[TCJ70]

25. Of course vitamins don't cut the risk of dying...

...I don't know of anything that does.

[Ilsa]

26. A good diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables is best.

Lot's of color, lower in saturated fats, good fiber, etc.

I don't like vitamins very much, even the good ones I take.

[MoeHayNow]

28. Best news I've heard all day!

"In fact, vitamins A, E and beta-carotene could even increase a person’s chances of dying prematurely, according to scientists at Copenhagen University."

Time to double up! I really don't like the word "could" but it's the best I've got right now.

[renate]

29. it looks like they only studied antioxidants, and probably only one at a time

I suspect that in most of the studies that were analyzed, a single antioxidant supplement was used, although the most well-known lung cancer studies often looked at beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol in combination as well as singly. Antioxidants work best when they're used in combination; I can readily believe that supplementing with only one or two would lead to an imbalance in the antioxidant properties of the others. If any of these studies 1) used a high-quality combination of antioxidant supplements, including all the carotenes and tocotrienols/tocopherols, and 2) used natural vitamin E (there's a difference between natural vitamin E and the synthetic version), that would be useful to know about.

[uppityperson]

30. Moderation in all things. Overdosing on vitamins, even water, can be dangerous.

So can under dosing.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. Debunked

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/newsarch/2007/Feb07/vitaminstudy.html

[Hekate]

34. With my family history of depression, I think I'll continue with the fish oil, thanks

My biggest concern with supplements (and I take quite a few of them) is how many are being manufactured in China.

Hekate