Certain vitamins have no health benefits and actually increase the risk of death, say Danish researchers.
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WASHINGTON: Taking vitamins A, E and other antioxidant supplements may increase the risk of death and carries no clear health benefits as claimed by vitamin makers.
In a blow to the healthy image often associated with dietary supplements, a wide-ranging Danish-led review of 47 clinical trials, involving 180,938 patients, concluded that vitamins A, E and beta carotene are in fact linked to a rise of five per cent in the risk of mortality.
The findings, based on electronic databases and bibliographies, were published in today's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E given singly or combined with other antioxidant supplements significantly increase mortality," wrote the authors, led by Goran Bjelakovic of the Centre for Clinical Intervention Research at Copenhagen University Hospital. "Our findings contradict the findings of observational studies, claiming that antioxodiants improve health."
The study also found that there was no evidence vitamin C may increase longevity and added: "We lack evidence to refute a potential negative effect of vitamin C on survival."
With an estimated 10 to 20 per cent of the adult population in North America and Europe - 80 to 160 million people - taking antioxidant supplements, "the public health consequences may be substantial," the authors wrote.
The U.S. market for antioxidant supplements was estimated at more than five billion dollars (A$6.3 billion) in 2006. The authors deplored the intense marketing that touts the alleged health benefits of antioxidant supplements and offered possible explanations as to why the products can have a negative effect.
"By eliminating free radicals from our [body], we interfere with some essential defensive mechanisms," read the study. The antioxidant supplements are synthetic and not subject to the same toxicity studies as other pharmaceutical agents.
"Better understanding of mechanisms and actions of antioxidants in relation to a potential disease is needed," the researchers concluded.
The makers of vitamins and other dietary supplements are not required to register their products with the U.S. government's Food and Drug Administration that regulates medicine and food products, but the FDA can order the withdrawal of products on the market that are found to pose a risk to public health.
More Information:
Journal of the American Medical Association
University of Copenhagen
Anti-oxidant, Wikipedia
Vit A & Betacarotene
About 7 years ago, I had iritis. This is like having daggers poked into your eye. I went to my GP. He sent me to a specialist. For 1+ years, I was put on steroids. The iritis wouldn't go. I then read about using Vit A and betacarotene for poor kids in Africa. I decided to use them, at high levels. In about 6 weeks, I felt relief. In 3 months, the vits cured my iritis. I gradually lowered the amounts until today, I take 1 betacarotene a day.
I haven't seen the details of the 'scientific' study. But there is a lot of politics involved with vitamins.
Barry Rosenberg
Nambour
Australia
to barry
sure the people that need extra vitamins within there body its possable it could help, but what this is trying to say is that if your just taking them for a supposed better helth then its robbing your body of natural chemicals. luv me
Hmmmm, who funded the study, who has the most to gain
Dig deeper into the story, do your own research.
What is more likely?
The pharmaceutical industry wants people to be cured.
or
The pharmaceutical industry wants to protect it's profits.
BTW, you can't have both.
You get vitamins from food, why is it that all of a sudden supplemental vitamins are "bad" for you. I guess all of those people who cured scurvy back in the early sailing days by supplementing their intake of Vitamin C by eating citrus fruits were just CRAZY people?
bye
Honest doctors don't like their credibility questioned
Have you checked to see if a major pharmaceutical company funded this study? Even if one did fund the study (I don't know either), it is unfair to assume that the results and conclusions are biased and inaccurate. That should be determined based on the credentials and reputation(s) of the doctor(s) that performed the study.
I have a mother that is convinced that if she takes Echinacea and Zinc supplements when she gets a hint of a symptom of a cold, that will protect her from it. She still gets sick and now God only knows how much money she's wasting too.
The bottom line is that if you overdose on certain supplements, toxic levels can build, normally though it is doubtful that a single vitamin a day could do much harm, or much good.
Vitamin A and betacarotene for iritis...
Hi Barry,
I am interested in knowing what kind of doses/strengths you were taking of the vitamin a and betacarotene. I have been suffering with bouts of iritis for a number of years and hate using steroids etc...
Your experience with vitamins is something I would like more info on as I am willing to try anything to stop these flareups. I am also wondering if you have any 'other' inflammatory problems like arthritis etc..?
Kathryn Herman
Toronto, Canada
Death by Vitamins: A flawed study!
Over several years, as case manager for over 600 patients who were treated with out blood transfusions. The main stay of the treatment was vitamins and minerals.
There is no question that with out these, the patients would have died. Science shows that they are a part of boosting blood counts exponentially.
Add to this the studies relating to glutathione and using antioxidants to increase the effectiveness and there is yet more evidence of the benefit.
The one possibility for a down side would be chronic overuse or abuse.
Otherwise, there are too many studies that show that they improve health.
Jonathan S, RN
The Truth?
The details of this study are lacking. A 5% increase in mortality could be attributed to any number of issues: Diet, exercise, age, stress, pre-existing illnesses, living conditions (people in Japan are less prone to cancer because of the types of foods they eat), you name it!
5% is not much of an increase with all of those variables not accounted for, and most research today is performed by the chemical companies. It seems unlikely that they would publish something that would encourage people to take vitamins instead of harmful drugs.
Supposed (and unproven) deaths from vitamins in the last 23 years? Ten...
Over 100,000 people die every year from reactions to prescription drugs that were taken as directed, making these drugs 16,400% deadlier than terrorism, but you don't see the chemical companies publicizing that, do you?
Vitamins don't harm people,
Vitamins don't harm people, improper information harms people. This article only perpetuates the lies concerning vitamins, so shame on you. They are not dangerous.... ponder this! We consume fruits and vegetables that contain VITAMINS, as well as from other sources in our diets and simply put vitamins are forever necesary for our bodies to function properly, this is why we eat food in the first place, nutrition and energy. The problem occurs when we become deficient in nurtients when we don't get enough from our diets....for whatever reason. If you're eating a diet that consists of chips, sugar, pizza's, french fries, and MAYBE a veggie here or there, you probably are deficient in vitamins, and most likely you are overweight, OR maybe you feel pretty crappy most of the time.. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT...but thats a different subject now, the point is, when you are deficient there can be no harm in taking extra vitamins to catch up or put the missing peice back into the puzzle; doing this is vital to retain the balance in our bodies chemistry.
And this whole load of bologna about DEATH BY VITAMINS...are you kiddings me!?!? How many confirmed death's were there from that study that said vitamins were the direct cause of harm or death!? Your presented "evidence" is lacking. I've never heard of anyone dying from vitamins. This article comes off as utter nonesense and completely discredits you, and I would hope anyone who reads this has enough sense or reason. heck even enough resonpsibility to themselves to seek the truth, what you find will suprise you. I hope the FDA never regulates vitamins because then we'd all be screwed.
thank you
This article is absolutly ridiculous. Vitamins are essential to our health and well being, we need vitmains and minerals for our body to function properly. Vitamins dont do the healing they promote our body's healing system to activate. DRUGS kill people. Pharmecutical companies and Doctors that prescribe drugs to "cure" aka cover the problem withouth creating any real healing change, is what is causing significant death. whoever wrote this article obviously is sponsered by drug companies.
Not So Sure
I'll join the chorus of skepticism aimed at the findings of this study, and seriously question the motivation behind publishing it. Everyone knows that education, big pharma, research, and scientific publishing are all in each other's pockets.
Pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids and the like locally suppress our natural immune function to ease the "symptoms" of our bodies' natural response to harmful agents that build up from an unwholesome diet full of foods our bodies are not meant to exist on. When the steroids are stopped, the body rebounds with an even angrier inflammation. It is only by systemically removing the causes of the original inflammation through diet and lifestyle changes that many chronic ailments can be relieved. Vitamin and mineral supplements can be a part of this program for bodily and mental health, supplementing (NOT replacing) a wholesome diet. These changes take time and are more difficult and require more commitment than taking a pill, whether it be a supplement or drug, legal or otherwise.
Big drug companies who are making billions of dollars from drugs which only relieve symptoms but do not cure illnesses would rather we didn't know this, because it cuts into their profits. They tried to change regulation of vitamins here in Canada so that you would need a prescription to buy vitamins at hugely increased cost to the consumer, but the supplement industry fought back.
Yes, there are unrealistic health claims for many products and unscrupulous businessmen never tire of inventing new miracle cures, with consumers happily and at huge expense jumping on each new bandwagon, but that doesn't mitigate the health benefits of a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, some of which can come from supplements.
Big pharma will never tire of using science to try to eradicate the competition, but naturopathic and holistic medicine have been around since long before the first tablet was ever mechanically pressed. Modern science and holistic medicine should be working hand in hand instead of fighting tooth and nail with one another. Each can do things the other cannot and both have to recognize this fact before in their mutual ignorance they destroy one another.