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5/19/2006Government panel makes ludicrous claims concerning multivitamins

Too many vitamins 'can damage your health –Daily Mail, London

Americans may take too many vitamins, experts say- Reuters

Feds question vitamins' vitality- Associated Press

No firm evidence seen on multivitamins- United Press International

These are the news headlines circling the globe concerning a select panel report on multivitamins. The headlines and the report make ludicrous accusations against multivitamins. The report called for more research, not because multivitamins are unsafe, but because there are so few studies involving multivitamins compared to single vitamins and minerals. The report actually indicts health authorities for not sponsoring more studies involving the most often consumed vitamin pill in the world.

Specifically the report warned against overdosage. Up to 12% of Americans may get nutrients in vitamin pills that exceed the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). But the RDA is antiquated, in need of major updating, and many experts have called for higher RDA levels for vitamin C, folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin D.

The idea that essential vitamins interfere with drugs is also absurd. Vitamins and minerals are essential for life while drugs often deplete the body of essential nutrients.

The news reports and the government report claim that some supplements can lead to liver damage and birth defects. They are talking about vitamin A in regards to birth defects. This mischaracterizes multivitamins which have been preventing birth defects by provision of folic acid. Furthermore, studies show that vitamin A does not cause birth defects when provided with vitamin E and folic acid, such as found in a multivitamin.

In regards to liver damage, the report is referring to niacin. But multivitamins do not provide niacin in ultra-high doses. Mega-dose niacin is prescribed by doctors in doses ranging from 1500-3000 milligrams, to control cholesterol. Why would 50 milligrams of niacin in a multivitamin be toxic, but 3000 milligrams prescribed by a doctor be acceptable?

According to records of the Poison Control Centers of America, there has not been one fatality from multivitamins recorded in the past 10 years. Multivitamins are safer than food, aspirin or table salt.

Cornell University nutritionist Patsy Brannon, a panelist and contributor to the report, advised consumers to use multivitamins that are labeled to provide no more than 100 percent of the RDA. Together with a good diet, that would provide most people plenty without getting near the upper limit, she said. But the upper limit is perfectly safe, with toxicity starting at doses many times beyond the upper limit.

In regards to the claim that there is “no firm evidence multivitamin and mineral supplements help fight heart disease, cancer or other ailments,” the following abridged abstracts from the National Library of Medicine are provided for your review. Multivitamins are intended to promote health and prevent disease, not necessarily overcome established disease. – Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health, Inc.

 

American Journal Ophthalmology 132: 19-26, 2001

Use of vitamin supplements and cataract: the Blue Mountains Eye Study.

Departments of Ophthalmology and Public Health & Community Medicine, the University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

RESULTS: Use of multivitamin supplements was associated with reduced prevalence of nuclear cataract, by 40%. Long-term use of multivitamins, B group and vitamin A supplements was associated with reduced prevalence of either nuclear or cortical cataract. A strong protective influence on cortical cataract, from use of folate or vitamin B12 supplements, is a new finding.

American Journal Public Health 84: 788-92, 1994

The use of vitamin supplements and the risk of cataract among US male physicians.

Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

The study population consisted of 17,744 participants in the Physicians' Health Study, among US male physicians 40 to 84 years of age in 1982 who did not report cataract at baseline and provided complete information about vitamin supplementation and other risk factors for cataract. RESULTS. Those who took only multivitamins had a relative risk of cataract of 0.73 (27% reduction) after adjustment for other risk factors. For cataract extraction, the corresponding relative risk was 0.79 (21% reduction). CONCLUSIONS. These data suggest that men who took multivitamin supplements tended to experience a decreased risk of cataract and support the need for rigorous testing of this hypothesis in large-scale randomized trials in men and women. (Note: it is unlikely that there will ever be such a long-term controlled study, which would take 15 years to be conclusive.)

New England Journal of Medicine 351: 23-32, 2004

A randomized trial of multivitamin supplements and HIV disease progression and mortality.

Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. mina

METHODS: We enrolled 1078 pregnant women infected with HIV in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to examine the effects of daily supplements of vitamin A (preformed vitamin A and beta carotene), multivitamins (vitamins B, C, and E), or both on progression of HIV disease, using survival models. Multivitamins also resulted in significantly higher CD4+ and CD8+ cell counts and significantly lower viral loads. CONCLUSIONS: Multivitamin supplements delay the progression of HIV disease and provide an effective, low-cost means of delaying the initiation of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected women.

American Journal Epidemiology 160: 886-92, 2004

Multivitamin use and the risk of preterm birth.

Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Compared with nonusers, women who take multivitamin supplements prior to conception may have a reduced risk of preterm birth.

American Journal Medicine 115: 702-07, 2003

Reduction of C-reactive protein levels through use of a multivitamin.

The Cooper Institute, Dallas, Texas 75230, USA.

CONCLUSION: In a post hoc analysis of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, multivitamin use was associated with lower C-reactive protein levels. Other similarly formulated multivitamins may yield comparable results.

Journal Nutrition 133: 2650-54, 2003

Multivitamin supplements are inversely associated with risk of myocardial infarction in men and women--Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program (SHEEP).

Division of Cardiovascular Epidemiology, The National Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

The odds ratio of heart attack (myocardial infarction) comparing regular users of supplements with nonusers were 0.79 (21% reduction) for men and 0.66 (34% reduction) for women. This inverse association was not modified by such healthy lifestyle habits as consumption of fruits and vegetables, intake of dietary fiber, smoking habits and level of physical activity, although never smoking appeared to outweigh the association in women. Findings from this study indicate that use of low dose multivitamin supplements may aid in the primary prevention of heart attack.

Annals Epidemiology 13: 412-18, 2003

Periconceptional multivitamin folic acid use, dietary folate, total folate and risk of neural tube defects in South Carolina.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether dietary folate or multivitamin folic acid taken 3 months before conception and during the first 3 months of pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defect (birth defects: spina bifida and anencephaly). RESULTS: Use of 0.400 mcg or more of multivitamin folic acid at least 3 times per week during the periconceptional period showed protective effects from birth defects were observed at the highest users of dietary folic acid and total folic acid (daily dietary folate plus daily multivitamin folic acid); the respective odds ratios were 0.40 (60% reduction in risk)

Annals Internal Medicine 138: 365-71, 2003

Effect of a multivitamin and mineral supplement on infection and quality of life. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

SETTING: Primary care clinics at two medical centers in North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS: 130 community-dwelling adults stratified by age (45 to 64 years or >or=65 years) and presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. INTERVENTION: Multivitamin and mineral supplement or placebo taken daily for 1 year. RESULTS: More participants receiving placebo reported an infectious illness over the study year than did participants receiving multivitamin and mineral supplements (73% vs. 43%, a 30% reduction). Infection-related absenteeism was also higher in the placebo group than in the treatment group (57% vs. 21%; a 36% reduction). CONCLUSIONS: A multivitamin and mineral supplement reduced the incidence of participant-reported infection and related absenteeism in a sample of participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus and a high prevalence of subclinical micronutrient deficiency.

Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers Prevention 11: 227-34, 2002

The influence of folate and multivitamin use on the familial risk of colon cancer in women.

Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Compared with women who consumed 200 micrograms or less of folic acid/day, the age-adjusted relative risk of colon cancer for those who consumed more than 400 micrograms/day was 0.81 (19% reduction) in women without a family history of colorectal cancer and 0.48 (52% risk reduction) in women with a family history for colon cancer. Our results suggest that higher intake of folic acid and regular use of multivitamins containing folic acid, and avoidance of moderate to heavy alcohol consumption, may diminish the excess risk of colon cancer associated with a family history of the disease.

 

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© 2006 Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health, Inc. All material on this site, including all factual statements and opinions, are solely those of Bill Sardi and are not sponsored, endorsed, or authorized by any other person or entity. If you have a health condition, you are advised to seek other medical opinions from health professionals before making any changes in your health regimens. The reports on this website are for information purposes only.