Some common vitamin supplements could increase death risk, study finds

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Vitals - Some common vitamin supplements could increase death risk, study finds

Popping vitamins may do more harm than good, according to a new study that adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting some supplements may have health risks.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota examined data from more than 38,000 women taking part in the Iowa Women's Health Study, an ongoing study with women who were around age 62 at its start in 1986. The researchers collected data on the women's supplement use in 1986, 1997 and 2004.

Women who took supplements had, on average, a 2.4 percent increased risk of dying over the course of the 19-year study, compared with women who didn't take supplements, after the researchers adjusted for factors including the women's age and calorie intake.

"Our study, as well as other similar studies, have provided very little evidence that commonly used dietary supplements would help to prevent chronic diseases," said study author Jaakko Mursu, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

"We would advise people to reconsider whether they need to use supplements, and put more emphasis on a healthy diet instead," Mursu said.

A toxic combination?
The new study linked a number of individual vitamins and minerals to the slight mortality risk, including multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper.

For example, of the 12,769 women in the study who took a daily multivitamin, 40.8 percent had died by the end of 2008, whereas 39.8 percent of the 10,161 women who hadn't taken a daily multivitamin had died.

Mursu said that the design of the study did not allow the researchers to determine if there was a specific cause for the increased mortality.

"However, we do know that most compounds are toxic in high amounts, and long-term use might predispose [a person] to detrimental outcomes," he told MyHealthNewsDaily.

The increased chance of dying "could be related to generally high concentration of compounds that these supplements contain. Most supplements contain higher amounts of nutrients than would be derived from food, and it is known that several compounds can be toxic in higher amounts, especially when consumed for a long time, as some of these accumulate to body," Mursu said.

Taking calcium supplements, on the other hand, actually seemed to lower the women's death risk slightly, by 3.8 percent, although the researchers noted that there was not a relationship between consuming increasingly higher amounts of calcium and a continuing decrease in mortality rate.

Less is more
While vitamins and minerals are necessary for proper nutrition, excess intake has not shown further benefit, and recent studies have cast some doubt on the idea that vitamin supplements provide a "safety net" for people not getting enough of a given nutrient. Instead, too much may be a problem.

The study, published today (Oct. 10) in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, is part of a series examining interventions in medicine that may be unnecessary.

"Until recently, the available data regarding the adverse effects of dietary supplements has been limited and grossly underreported. We think the paradigm "the more, the better" is wrong," wrote Dr. Goran Bjelakovic and Dr. Christian Gluud, of the Center for Clinical Intervention Research at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark in an accompanying commentary.

"We believe that for all micronutrients, risks are associated with insufficient and too-large intake. Low levels of intake increase the risk of deficiency. High levels of intake increase the risk of toxic effects and disease," they wrote.

"Therefore, we believe that politicians and regulatory authorities should wake up to their responsibility to allow only safe products on the market," they wrote.
 
JudoJosh

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Correlation does not equal causation
 
R1balla

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so can advil, tylenol, salt, and anything else we put in our body
 
itzDodge

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Good news their making a vitamin for you to counteract any negatives from your daily multi!
 
bill86

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the numbers dont seem very significant...

and i still stand by my view that multi's are a waste of money (some id go as far as to call a scam that load them up with a bunch of BS that youre gonna piss out anyway just to make it look better) for the average american, and especially for people like us who actually eat, but for some reason, everywhere i look people are always saying 'if you can only have 1 supplement for bodybuilding, it should be a good multivtiamin ...... (i sometimes wonder if greens supplements are of any use for someone who doesnt get enough vegetables though?)
 
antihero

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the numbers dont seem very significant...

and i still stand by my view that multi's are a waste of money (some id go as far as to call a scam that load them up with a bunch of BS that youre gonna piss out anyway just to make it look better) for the average american, and especially for people like us who actually eat, but for some reason, everywhere i look people are always saying 'if you can only have 1 supplement for bodybuilding, it should be a good multivtiamin ...... (i sometimes wonder if greens supplements are of any use for someone who doesnt get enough vegetables though?)
I don't take a multi, and haven't in quite a while.

I do love me some greens and reds powder though.
 
bill86

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yeah, i just wondered since i eat such a small amount of vegetables if id benefit from something like that, but i dont really know what exactly are in the powders or what theyre supposed to do for your overall health

with regard to multi's, its kind of like my nutrition teacher in college said, unless youre living in a 3rd world country or cant afford everyday foods, a multi-vitamin is pretty useless, not to mention they arent used/absorbed all that well by your body. now some may say if youre working out, you need more vitamins and minerals than the average person, to which i respond 'thats why you strive to eat no less than 5-6 meals a day'
 
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not to mention they arent used/absorbed all that well by your body.'
care to back that up?


sure, a lot of mutli's out there use poor forms of vitamins/mineral's with low bio availability, but not all of them do.
 
bill86

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thats true, i didnt mean to make a blanket statement of all multi's... i guess i would have been better off speaking on peoples mindset and expectations when taking them.

however, i still believe their benefits are overstated... at least for people like us
 
Jessep76

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unless youre living in a 3rd world country or cant afford everyday foods
A lot of the food we eat today compared to 10 years ago have much less nutrients. Not saying this is an argument for a multivit, but I wouldn't go believing that our foods are more superior to other countries.
 
bill86

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^^^yeah, i just meant a country where food isnt readily available or people cant afford it.
 
Jessep76

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Vitals - Some common vitamin supplements could increase death risk, study finds


Taking calcium supplements, on the other hand, actually seemed to lower the women's death risk slightly, by 3.8 percent, although the researchers noted that there was not a relationship between consuming increasingly higher amounts of calcium and a continuing decrease in mortality rate.

So what was the point of reading this then? Supplements will kill you...except some will help you ..wait *head explodes*
 
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I agree that a few points of the article were confusing but I didn't write the article... i just posted it in the supplements forum for some open discussion on the topic in general... and i appreciate the thoughts on the topic by a few of you
 
itzDodge

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A lot of the food we eat today compared to 10 years ago have much less nutrients. Not saying this is an argument for a multivit, but I wouldn't go believing that our foods are more superior to other countries.
Go fill out a daily intake for your maintenance on whatever foods you generally eat at any site, odds are you're over for a lot of things and under for very few things(most commonly for me was omega 3's, selenium and copper)

Supplements are not dangerous but I usually suggest to avoid multi's. If you have some known deficiency, that your doctor has already most likely pointed out if it's a serious issue the symptoms will be prominent, then you can take whatever vitamin/mineral you're lacking. Everything in moderation.
 
Stri8ted25

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wonder if this article was put out by the FDA (Fcuking Dumb A$$es)lol
 

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vitamins should come from FOOD, not fcking supplements. the bioavailability of vitamin c complexed with other helpful nutrients in one orange would probably outweigh any dose of vit. c supplemented by itself because the active constituents in organic food use co-factors and other molecules in that same food to ensure delivery/absorption/metabolism the way it was intended.

/rant
 
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itzDodge

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I see the valid argument on vitamins being over dosed and toxicity being a factor for the people just taking something without doing any research, but I still feel that the last part scares me more....
I totally agree 100% there, brb mega dosing potassium cause its safe says the FDA

brb dead
 
lartinos

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Terrible article, they do more harm than good.... Unless abused I guess, lol.
 
Stri8ted25

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vitamins should come from FOOD, not fcking supplements. the bioavailability of vitamin c complexed with other helpful nutrients in one orange would probably outweigh any dose of vit. c supplemented by itself because the active constituents in organic food use co-factors and other molecules in that same food to ensure delivery/absorption/metabolism the way it was intended.
I do agree w you on this,,,,,but IMO when your cutting and aren't getting as many nutrients as when your bulking, I see nothing wrong w a multiV. But it should not be used as a substitute for food.
 
Jessep76

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I do agree w you on this,,,,,but IMO when your cutting and aren't getting as many nutrients as when your bulking, I see nothing wrong w a multiV. But it should not be used as a substitute for food.
^^this for sure.

Even when I'm sick I don't mind a few vit C pills especially when you don't feel like eating. Great for the flu too if it doesn't upset you stomach more.
 
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Vitamin E Gives Men A Daily Dose of Prostate Cancer Risk

Vitamin E Gives Men A Daily Dose of Prostate Cancer Risk - ABC News


New evidence about the effect of vitamin E on prostate cancer risk may make some men think twice before they pop a daily supplement. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that men who took a high daily dose of vitamin E had a 17 percent greater risk of developing prostate cancer.

The report, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, adds to a growing list of studies suggesting that supplemental vitamins have few benefits and could even be harmful.

"Many people are taking supplements because they view it as a health insurance," said Dr. Lori Minasian, one of the study's authors. "This would be an indication that it's probably not just neutral, but there is some level of harm."

Data from previous studies suggested that taking vitamin E might help protect men against prostate cancer, so Minasian and her colleagues at the NCI decided to take a closer look at the connection between the two. Beginning in 2001, they started the Select trial, studying more than 35,000 men age 55 and older in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. They divided the men into four groups, each with different kinds of daily diet supplements: vitamin E, selenium, both vitamin E and selenium, or a placebo pill.

"We expected that the numbers of prostate cancer would be smaller in men taking vitamin E, but we found larger numbers instead," Minasian said.

After seven years, the researchers detected more prostate cancer in men taking one or both of the supplements, but the men taking vitamin E showed the most significant increase in their rates of prostate cancer.

And the numbers of prostate cancer diagnoses kept climbing after the men stopped taking the vitamins. Of the 8,737 men taking vitamin E, 620 of them got prostate cancer, compared to 529 of the 8,896 men taking a placebo – a 17-percent increased risk for men taking the supplement.

The authors of the study noted the findings were particularly concerning, considering how many people take supplemental vitamin E every day. Fifth percent of people over age 60 reported taking daily supplements containing vitamin E, and 23 percent of them took supplements with more than 13 times the recommended amount of vitamin E.


the article goes on to page 2
 
bill86

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^^^^ my dad just showed me that same study in our local paper today... made me think of this thread haha
 
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Vitamin E Gives Men A Daily Dose of Prostate Cancer Risk - ABC News


New evidence about the effect of vitamin E on prostate cancer risk may make some men think twice before they pop a daily supplement. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that men who took a high daily dose of vitamin E had a 17 percent greater risk of developing prostate cancer.

The report, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, adds to a growing list of studies suggesting that supplemental vitamins have few benefits and could even be harmful.

"Many people are taking supplements because they view it as a health insurance," said Dr. Lori Minasian, one of the study's authors. "This would be an indication that it's probably not just neutral, but there is some level of harm."

Data from previous studies suggested that taking vitamin E might help protect men against prostate cancer, so Minasian and her colleagues at the NCI decided to take a closer look at the connection between the two. Beginning in 2001, they started the Select trial, studying more than 35,000 men age 55 and older in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. They divided the men into four groups, each with different kinds of daily diet supplements: vitamin E, selenium, both vitamin E and selenium, or a placebo pill.

"We expected that the numbers of prostate cancer would be smaller in men taking vitamin E, but we found larger numbers instead," Minasian said.

After seven years, the researchers detected more prostate cancer in men taking one or both of the supplements, but the men taking vitamin E showed the most significant increase in their rates of prostate cancer.

And the numbers of prostate cancer diagnoses kept climbing after the men stopped taking the vitamins. Of the 8,737 men taking vitamin E, 620 of them got prostate cancer, compared to 529 of the 8,896 men taking a placebo – a 17-percent increased risk for men taking the supplement.

The authors of the study noted the findings were particularly concerning, considering how many people take supplemental vitamin E every day. Fifth percent of people over age 60 reported taking daily supplements containing vitamin E, and 23 percent of them took supplements with more than 13 times the recommended amount of vitamin E.


the article goes on to page 2
Again, correlation does not equal causation.. these studies are really pointless without them describing a MOA, there can be tons of variables between the groups and other factors that they are not considering.
 

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