O/T - Vitamin pills 'increase risk of early death'


So on top of the recent story about not poncing around with a huge
bottle of evian, guzzing vitamins for health reasons is now also
debunked. In fact they will kill you!

=========

Popular vitamin supplements taken by millions of people in the hope of
improving their health may do no good and could increase the risk of a
premature death, researchers report today.

They warn healthy people who take antioxidant supplements, including
vitamins A and E, to try to keep diseases such as cancer at bay that
they are interfering with their natural body defences and may be
increasing their risk of an early death by up to 16 per cent.

Researchers at Copenhagen University carried out a review of 67
studies on 230,000 healthy people and found "no convincing evidence"
that any of the antioxidants helped to prolong life expectancy. But
some "increased mortality".

About 12 million Britons supplement their diets with vitamins and the
industry is worth £330 million. But little research has been done on
the long-term health implications.

The Department of Health said yesterday that people should try to get
the vitamins they need by eating a balanced diet and advised care in
taking large doses of supplements.

A spokesman said: "There is a need to exercise caution in the use of
high doses of purified supplements of vitamins, including antioxidant
vitamins, and minerals. Their impact on long-term health may not have
been fully established and they cannot be assumed to be without risk.

Antioxidants, including vitamins A, E, C and beta-carotene and
selenium, are said to mop up compounds, called free radicals, which
cause disease. It is this action that researchers believe may cause
problems with the defence system.

The Danish research, released by the influential Cochrane Library,
applied only to synthetic supplements and not to vitamins that occur
naturally in vegetables and fruit.

It found that vitamin A supplements increased the risk of death in
healthy people by 16 per cent. Taking beta-carotene was linked to a 7
per cent increased risk, while regular users of vitamin E supplements
increased the risk of an early death by four per cent.

Although the review found no significant detrimental effect caused by
vitamin C, it found no evidence that it helped ward off disease.
Millions take it in the hope of avoiding a common cold.

Goran Bjelakovic, who led the review, said: "We could find no evidence
to support taking antioxidant supplements to reduce the risk of dying
earlier in healthy people or patients with various diseases.

"If anything, people in trial groups given the antioxidants beta-
carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E showed increased rates of
mortality."

But Patrick Holford, a nutritionist who has formulated supplements for
the company Biocare, said: "Antioxidants are not meant to be magic
bullets and should not be expected to undo a lifetime of unhealthy
habits.

"When used properly, in combination with a healthy diet full of fruit
and vegetables, getting plenty of exercise and not smoking,
antioxidant supplements can play an important role in maintaining and
promoting overall health."

A spokesman for the Health Supplements Information Service said:
"People should get all the vitamins and minerals they need from their
diet, but for the millions who are not able to do that, vitamins can
be a useful supplement and they should not stop taking them."

However, Catherine Collins, of the British Dietetic Association, said:
"This study is deeply worrying and shows that there should be more
regulation for vitamins and minerals.

"The public can buy vitamins as easily as sweets. They should be
treated in the same way as paracetamol with maximum limits on the
dosage."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/04/16/scivita116.xml
.

Relevant Pages

  • Indep: Judge overrules Brussels ban on vitamins
    ... vitamin and mineral supplements has been declared illegal by a European ... The judgment is a victory for health food manufacturers and retailers ... The new rules governing vitamins and minerals are due to come into ... Further directives on the maximum doses of vitamins and rules governing ...
    (sci.med.nutrition)
  • Re: Medical community concedes that multivitamins are important for health, but only after decades o
    ... supplements are, in fact, necessary for optimum health. ... The evidence is strong that a good diet is *better* for health than taking ... vitamins or minerals it bears little correlation to what the vitamin pushers ...
    (misc.health.alternative)
  • Need Help with Vitamin Regiment
    ... I have become interested in taking vitamins on a daily basis. ... supplements I should take in addition to what I am taking now. ... MSM or some joint health formula ... what color my urine is or how much I am paying for it. ...
    (sci.med.nutrition)
  • Feds question vitamins vitality
    ... Institutes of Health called Wednesday for strengthened federal ... tell if taking vitamins is a good or bad idea, ... Funding Priorities at the IOM ... Unrestricted Annual Fund Support ...
    (sci.med.nutrition)
  • Re: Barrett Loses Appeal, Leaves Town
    ... entitled "The Health Robbers." ... Barrett is normally obsessive about documenting any ... CDC reports that vitamins and minerals have caused ZERO deaths. ... health outcomes, but supplementation is not. ...
    (misc.health.alternative)