Posted on 04/15/2008 8:34:19 PM PDT by blam
Vitamin pills 'increase risk of early death'
By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 16/04/2008
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.
Antioxidants, including vitamins A, E, and C are said to mop up free radicals, which cause disease
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.
"Anyone concerned about their diet should speak to their doctor or dietitian."
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."
Is it God’s “will” for anyone to go to hell?
Ping.... we’re all going to die...truly.
So you are claiming that it would have been "God's will" for you to commit suicide by ingesting a fatal dose of arsenic. Don't you find that theology a gross perversion on what the Presbyterian church teaches?
British study. Vitamins clearly work better here across the pond. Just look at British TV!!!
You have no idea. ;-D
Later that same Deputy came by in a boat and said to the man on his porch "You need to evacuate", the man said "No I depend on the Lord to care over and protect me".
Later that same deputy came by in a helicopter and said to the man on his roof "You need to evacuate" the man said "No I depend on the Lord to care over and protect me"
When the man got to heaven he said to God "Why did you let me die? I asked and had faith in your protection!" God said " Gump,I sent you a car, a boat and a helicopter!"
Vitamins A, C and E Increase Mortality! (and other nonsense from the realm of junk science)
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 by: Mike Adams | Key concepts: vitamins, antioxidant and junk science(NaturalNews) The latest attack on vitamins A, C, E, selenium and beta-carotene comes from the Cochrane Library, a widely-read source of information on conventional health matters. In the paper published yesterday, these antioxidants were linked with a higher risk of mortality ("they'll kill you!"), and now serious-sounding scientists have warned consumers away from taking vitamins altogether. But with all the benefits of antioxidants already well known to the well-informed, how did the Cochrane Library arrive at such a conclusion? It's easy: The researchers considered 452 studies on these vitamins, and they threw out the 405 studies where nobody died! That left just 47 studies where subjects died from various causes (one study was conducted on terminal heart patients, for example). From this hand-picked selection of studies, these researchers concluded that antioxidants increase mortality.
Just in case the magnitude of the scientific fraud taking place here has not yet become apparent, let me repeat what happened: These scientists claimed to be studying the effects of vitamins on mortality, right? They were conducting a meta-analysis based on reviewing established studies. But instead of conducting an honest review of all the studies, they arbitrarily decided to eliminate all studies in which vitamins prevented mortality and kept people alive! They did this by "excluding all studies in which no participants died." What was left to review? Only the studies in which people died from various causes.
Brilliant, huh? This sort of bass-ackward science would earn any teenager an "F" in high school science class. But apparently it's good enough for the Cochrane Library, not to mention all the mainstream press outlets that are now repeating these silly conclusions as scientific fact.
Know what you mean...the real thing vs man made...no comparison.
Yes, but those who want this to happen just took it as a temporary defeat. It just shows they are continuing to try to gather momentum to get it done.
If vitamins were killing people because people were overdosing, the stories would be out there. You can be damn sure if the numbers were anywhere near how many people have had serious complications from Viagra, Crestor, Lipitor, and any other hyped-up wonder drug that’s killed or seriously injured people, including OTC acetominaphen and ibuprofen, we’d be hearing a ton of stories about it.
There aren’t any stories because vitamins don’t kill people. People don’t grab a bottle of vitamin C when they want to die. They take drugs. You take too much vitamin C and you may get diarrhea. You take too much of a prescription drug and you can destroy your liver, kidneys, and/or die.
Total BS people. Don’t buy into this crap that being able to buy your own vitamins, in the dosage amounts you want, is a bad thing for you. Complete and utter bullplop.
No. Do you?
No also.
Excellent! :)
I totally agree with you.
I could go on a rant about docs, FDA & all that but I won’t.
Yeah, me too, I understand where you’re coming from. Thanks for the kind post! :)
Some people also die before His desired time because someone else chooses to kill someone. Abortion, murder, wars, etc - all end people’s lives earlier than God would have liked to see them live. That said, that while some may die earlier than God might desire Himself, nobody dies any earlier than God permits. God still must allow it to occur. Think about Christ’s death and you get the ultimate example of this.
Not that God is helpless or could not intervene, but He allows others’ limited free wills to take precedence over His perfect will. And also that He can turn something bad into good. Again, Christ’s death being the biggest example.
And if you are thinking why does God allow this, think of all the awful things you have done that God has allowed you to do anyway. You want Him stopping you every time you do something against His perfect will? You want that kind of hyper-micromanagement in your life ALL the time? God doesn’t either.
Of course.
"...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2nd Peter 3:9
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