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.
I have cured a very bad shoulder the same way and now a sore hip.
I never took HRT--just Vit E and never had a hot flash. I know that proves nothing but I'd do it the same way again.
Docs had nearly killed my sister with drugs and we resorted to nutritional therapy for her, too. Her RA is gone but she still has fibromyalgia. They're working on that--no drugs.
I can write a book. I know these people have an agenda to discredit natural therapies so people will resort to drugs which are expensive and have side effects.