Don’t Ditch Your Vitamins

October 21, 2011

If you pay attention to the news, it’s likely one of the many articles suggesting vitamins may do “more harm than good” has caught your eye by now. These fear-inducing headlines were ignited by a study released last week by the .  If you’re among the estimated 234 million U.S. adults who take dietary supplements, these reports have good reason to grab your attention. Are you wondering if there should be cause for concern? Before you start questioning your healthy lifestyle choices, let’s take a closer look and hear some differing opinions., Huffington Post recently published an article, Women Who Take Vitamin Supplements May Have Increased Death Risk, “at precisely the moment that the pharmaceutical industry is in health attack mode to limit access to nutritional supplements in the U.S.,” Alan Goodwin writes on .  In addition, Alliance for Natural Health criticized the blatant lack of science behind the study in its article – Shame on the AMA's Archives of Internal Medicine. It’s worth noting that the receives millions of dollars in advertising from drug companies, part of the $400 million that goes from drug companies to medical journals.

Assault on the nutritional industry – is the timing coincidental or part of a larger scheme to strictly limit access to nearly all vitamins in the U.S. marketplace? The FDA’s current agenda is to revise supplement regulations in a way that would grant them virtually limitless power. To take a closer look at what has sparked concern; read this call to take action:

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) recently published a study – – that extols the benefits of vitamin E and Selenium in reducing the risk of cancer. This particular study is an excellent counter to the recent press denigrating vitamin E and Selenium based on one “junk science” study.

Additionally, the results from the 2011 study released last week contradict a 2009 study. The 2009 study included four times as many participants, which showed that vitamins neither helped nor hurt mortality. The Alliance for Natural Health pointed out the similar to the “junk science” in the 2011 study from the same journal.

Many experts have voiced that the data from the 2011 study was adjusted by the authors as well as being “observational.” In particular, Robert G. Smith, PhD, in an article published by Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, states there are several concerns about the newly released study’s methods and significance. “It reports only a small increase in overall mortality (1%) from those taking multivitamins,” notes Smith. “This is a small effect, not much larger than would be expected by chance. Generalizing a small effect is not scientific.” He also points out doctor recommendations were not taken into account; the study’s methods suggest that people who have serious health conditions take vitamins.

Last but definitely not least, the study showed a benefit, specifically associated with a lower risk of mortality, from taking B-complex, C, D, and E vitamins as well as calcium and magnesium. Also noted by Smith, these findings weren’t emphasized in the abstract leading the public and the media to believe all supplements were associated with mortality.

Don't be fooled into believing vitamin and mineral supplements can be detrimental to your health or even have no effect at all; that is as long as you aren’t ingesting synthetic forms versus naturally derived supplements. Vitamins and nutrients support everyday functions in the body from immune health to energy supply. As the vitamin content in our food supply has decreased dramatically over the past several decades, it makes it close to impossible to get adequate nutrition solely from what we eat. There is also the increasing toxic load in our environment that takes its toll and makes detoxification a critical component to optimal health.,  

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