Doubts Cast On Vitamin Supplements

Can Some Do More Harm Than Good? How Much Is Too Much To Take?

(CBS)  It seems as if there's a vitamin or supplement on the market to protect against every ill.

Some people swear by them, feeling supplements make them stronger and keep them healthier.

But The Early Show Saturday medical contributor Dr. Mallika Marshall explained that, when it comes to vitamins, too much of a good thing could be a bad idea and, with some supplements, doctors are coming to feel ANY dose may be ill-advised, with supplements pushing the dosage level into the risky range.

Vitamin and mineral supplements are, of course, a staple of a lot of people's lives.

But studies are now suggesting that some are not only unnecessary, but could be dangerous.

Of course, we all need vitamins, Marshall stresses, but only in very small amounts, and we generally get what we need from what we eat. So if you're generally healthy and eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, you're probably just fine, vitamins-wise, and you might be better off saving your money.

Some vitamins can be dangerous in high doses.

For instance, Vitamin E is touted as helping to fight cancer and heart disease. It's one of those anti-oxidants we all hear so much about. But, Marshall points out, new studies and more recent data suggest that large doses can actually increase the risk of death, not prevent it. So we are not recommending that people take Vitamin E supplements for disease prevention.

Another popular supplement for fighting certain diseases, beta-carotene, used to be thought of as helping to prevent disease, but now it appears that additional beta-carotene can actually raise the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Loading up on Vitamin C to fight off colds is also coming to be panned in the medical community. Too much Vitamin C can cause diarrhea and kidney stones, and studies don't suggest that it reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, or even the common cold. Vitamin A, another popular choice, can actually lead to liver damage, blindness, and bone fractures in high doses.

Of course, Marshall notes, there are exceptions - people who, due to poor nutrition, underlying medical problems, or the desire to have children, need to take vitamin supplements. But again, beware - in some of these cases, taking additional vitamins can actually be harmful.

Still, there is substantial evidence, Marshall says, that taking folic acid before pregnancy and in early pregnancy can significantly reduce the risk of birth defects, especially neural tube defects such as spina bifida, in infants. So, universally, it is recommended that all women of childbearing age who might become pregnant take 800 micrograms of folic acid, or a prenatal vitamin containing folic acid, on a daily basis. The Spina Bifida Association stresses that, "Research shows that if all women who could possibly become pregnant take a multivitamin with folic acid, the risk of neural tube defects like spina bifida could be reduced by up to 70 percent."

It's also generally recommended that women who are pre-menopausal, that is, entering the change of life, take 800 IU of Vitamin D and at least 1,200 mg of calcium to help prevent bone loss and osteoporosis.

When it comes to senior citizens, if they're generally healthy and eat a proper diet, they may not need vitamin supplements. But many older adults often suffer from poor nutrition and little sun exposure. Many could probably benefit from taking a daily multivitamin that will give them additional Vitamins D and B.

Also, it's not a bad idea for vegetarians, especially vegans, to take a daily multivitamin, since they could be deficient in certain vitamins, such as B-12, found primarily in meats.

And alcoholics are often deficient in Vitamins like A, B, C and folic acid, so they may benefit from a multivitamin, as well.

[tucano2]

I''m always suspicious when somebody is called Dr. soandso rather than Soandso, MD, or, DVM, or DO, or whatever is appropriate. An MD generally knows absolutely zero about supplements, vitamins, nutrition, or much else beyond the very narrow area of training/education received. An OrthoPod generally knows absolutely nothing about general medical practice even though she may be quite good at the limited scope of practice she''s in.
To have any credibility a story must accurately identify the physician''s specialty and credentials. "Dr soand so" just doesn''t cut it.

[gaye5]

And oh, my husband and I are hardly ever sick, and when we are it is over and done with within no time at all, we don''t and won''t have the flu injection etc.. and most of our friends are on many tablets..
My husband who is 66, is still teaching (school of distance education in Australia) and going all over the country seeing students.. Our kids say that we are healthier than them...but then it couldn''t possibly be the supplements that we take could it???
I agree that when taking supplements that you have to be careful in how you take them and with what, in the natural, naturally grown food possess the nutrient in the right proportions, eg the yellow of the egg has cholesterol but the white of the egg counteracts it. Unprocessed wheat, rice etc all have the B vitamins, iron, minerals etc all in the right proportions if one is missing it can make the others less effective, thus IF we could get everything in the natural we would be far, far better off than taking supplements but we can no longer get food which is whole now. And of course we have to realise that according to evolution, all this just happened, the balance is incredible without bees many of our food sources would die etc .. NO, NO I dont want to start an argument on evolution, it just makes one think though..

[gaye5]

mswolfestock, I had a total hysterectomy at 48 because my womb was tooo large and sitting hard at the wrong times of the month, and I went on HRT for three months then natural progesterone cream then onto nothing, and I am fine.. I have had the hot flushes etc but you get past that and only have them at odd times, but like you I take natural things to help.. Now I am 63 and everyone is shocked at my age as they thought I was about 50,, some would perhaps just be being polite and others are obviously shocked, and truthful..

[cfin5]

If it''s synthetic, don''t take it. Your body wasn''t made of anything synthetic and doesn''t know what to do with it correctly. Take only "Standardized Whole Food Vitamins". Even those will just sit in your body with out any marching orders without your minerals,.....especially sulfur and iodine. An old dentist told me one time that folks that drank from untreated sulfur water almost never got cavities.

[mswolfestock]

I am 54 years old and I only take ONE prescription drug, and that is Progesterone cream. It helps reduce some of my menopause symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats. I don''t know anybody else my age who can make this claim; most of my friends are on five or six prescription medications. And the still seem to be sick with something most of the time, too.

I attribute my good health to heredity, good nutrition, AND the fist-full of supplements that I take every day. To me, staying out of the doctor''s office is priceless and I will continue to take my supplements. My grandfather lived to be 99 years old; there was nothing really wrong with him - he just got tired and drifted away. He had all of his own teeth, for goodness sake! He took all kinds of vitamins and supplements - I learned about healthy living from him.

FYI - I take one multi-vitamin and multi-mineral (CVS brand), one CoQ-10 with Fish Oil, two Glucosamine & Chondroitin with MSM, and four capsules of an herbal supplement called Intra-Cleanse. I feel great, right down to my mitochondria.

If you want to improve your health, you must eat right, avoid fast food, get regular exercise, and check out the 411 on Intra-Cleanse -

http://www.longlifesolutions.net/intracleanse.html?WMID=11418

[marbill1237-2009]

Ask the people who know. They are not doctors. They do not know anything except how to send you to a specialist and they are more money-hungry than body knowledgable. I now call the doctor and change the appointment for another year and then for another and so on. The people who know are the pharmacists and nurses

[salty1954]

This article is another that CBS pushes knocking vitamins and supplements.

The moronic Dr. who wrote this article is a shill for the medical establishment.

Doctors do not want you to take supplements because you won''t need their services.

CBS must not own any vitamin companies, if they did they would be singing a different tune.

[gaye5]

senjimom, most Dr''s dont know about diet, nutrition, and exercise, they are glorified drug salesmen.. a Dr friend of ours said that they only got half a day on nutrition..
Natural food should give us all that the body needs to repare itself, but if grown in bad soil or the same soil every year then there isnt much goodness in them..

[gaye5]

sanfelz, I am sure glad that I never knew you years ago, I take supplements'' I also have lots of salt, and love my bread on butter.. my blood pressure is 92/62, very low, and my cholesterol is also good.. but then I take vitamin tablets, which I change around.. But then 90% of the things that I take are natural tablets so it says.. Total natural food is the best of course, but getting things which have all that our body needs now days is almost impossible.. Both my husband and myself are in far better health than any of our friends who are all on some sort of drug, and people cant believe how young we look.. and no it isn''t hereditary as both my parents and my husbands parents sure didnt look young..

[oneworldusa]

What studies, by whom? Who funded them, and what evidence?

All anyone needs is a multivitamin. If you need anything else, it should be under a doctor''s guidance, not that of the teen behind the GNC counter.

[senjimom]

What the good doctor says would make sense if most people ate a balanced, nutritious diet. But the fact is, the vast majority of people DO NOT eat a healthy diet, as evidenced by the fact that 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese and 1 out of 7 have type 2 diabetes brought on by poor dietary habits! Health supplements aren''t intended to treat illness, but they can be effective in filling the potholes--of which there are many--in the SAD (Standard American Diet). And while, as doctor Malliki says, our doctors should know about any supplements we''re taking, we should also be mindful that numerous studies indicate that doctors are woefully inadequate (don''t have the time or education) when it comes to counseling patients about diet, nutrition, and exercise. In fact, a new American Heart Association study shows that only one in ten primary care doctors and cardiologists counsel their patients on lifestyle changes, and most feel more comfortable prescribing drugs instead. So do your own research from credible sources like the NIH, CDC, AHA, etc. and make your own decisions!

[fredhetz]

So this story says that getting nutrients from food is best and that you should take appropriate doses of vitamins if you''re going to take them.

Very cutting-edge reporting.

[jon2012-2009]

Gayle5. Thanks for bringing up a very good point. Synthetic or the real thing. I wonder though if the synthetic can be any different than the real thing. After all, for example, the oxygen component is the same be it alone, in water, or any of the thousand of other compounds. How can a synthetic be different than the real thing if the chemical elements are the same in both?

Posted by lpgideon at 05:36 AM : Jun 08, 2008

I can think of three reasons. First, contaminants may be present which can lead to adverse or unpredictable reactions. Second, the dosage is different from what the label says--high or low. Third, taking vitamins in high concentrations is not the same as getting them from food sources which provide a complete brew of nutrients.

[jon2012-2009]

The best way to settle the question of whether vitamins do more good than harm--and not just harm to the wallet--is studies showing their efficacy. There aren''t really many such studies. Although there is a theoretical basis for believing the body benefits from their use, many of their claims remain unproven. And then there''s the question of adverse effects. There''s evidence they can actually sicken you. The point is to treat them like medication. Use them only as specifically directed by a qualified medical professional even though they''re available over the counter.

[breatheout]

Seems to me that every day some expert tells us the opposite of what another expert told us the day before. Plus I''m suspcious with statements like, recent studies, new evidence, etc. without citing which studies and what evidence.

[sanfelz]

The body does not know the difference between chemically identical natural or synthetic vitamins. Each is processed, isolated and added to other chemicals in order to be put into a saleable form.
The decision to use supplements should be decided on family history and medical problems rather than some teenager at a retail store who is paid a commission to push the most expensive produts. Taking supplements as some sort of insurance policy against poor eating and bad habits is wishful, scientifically unsupported thinking. If you do not take supplements thoughtfully, you waste money and put your health at risk.

[gaye5]

Nancy_Naive, eheheheheheheh you are so funny...

Well I am off to bed, it is 10.9 here in Australia...Sunday night..

[gaye5]

lpgideon, but are they???
From what I can remember.. scientists can chemically reproduce sea water but when you put fish in this synthetic sea water they die.
Sensitive people may can sometimes have an adverse reaction to the synthetic vitamins..
the natural is more rounded where as the synthetic is one component eg..
Almost all of the beta-carotene on the market is an isolated synthetic compound made from acetylene gas. This is probably why some of the testing done with the synthetic form of beta-carotene has produced mixed results, and in one study on smokers, produced a negative result.

In nature, beta-carotene is part of a family of carotenoids thus is never found alone. For example, carrots and tomatoes have alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, cantozantheen, gamma-carotene, omega-carotene, etc. And although beta-carotene is a great antioxidant, cantozantheen is already known to be an even more effective antioxidant. In other words, by isolating beta-carotene from its entire family of carotenoids the experts have taken away an even more beneficial antioxidant.

[lpgideon]

Gayle5. Thanks for bringing up a very good point. Synthetic or the real thing. I wonder though if the synthetic can be any different than the real thing. After all, for example, the oxygen component is the same be it alone, in water, or any of the thousand of other compounds. How can a synthetic be different than the real thing if the chemical elements are the same in both?

[gaye5]

brucesmall, tooo right I do, if a vitamin doesnt work they are eventually not bought, and whats more they dont do any harm, but when a drug is given eventually you have to take another drug to counteract the side effects of the first drug and then another etc, my Brother started out on only one drug and is now up to 12 morning and night..and of course they make their money, they are working are they not.. drug companies are the only ones in this recession who have made an incrediable profit..Americans have never been sicker, ask an older person were there many people with life threatening sickness when they were kids..

There are two types of vitamin tablets, synthetic or the real thing, taking synthetic is like taking a chunk of starch you get nothing out of it..Most studies done by pharmaceutical companies are on synthetic vitamins which I suppose that they make themselves..