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To take vitamins or not to take vitamins; certainly a question worth asking
By Christina | May 19, 2008
A group of scientists conducted a large study to determine of vitamins extend one’s life. The results may surprise you. They found that approximately one third of the population take vitamins and yet they do not extend life and may even cause premature death. They reviewed more than 67 studies which involved more than 230,000 men and women. The conclusion: there is no convincing evidence that taking supplements of the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E can make you healthier. In fact, they found that taking the supplements beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E seem to increase mortality. The study found that taking Vitamin A caused a 16 percent increase in mortality, taking beta-carotene caused a 7 percent increase and vitamin E to a 4 percent increase. However, there was no significant detrimental effect caused by vitamin C.
The bottom line is that current evidence does not support the use of antioxidant supplements in the general healthy population or in patients with certain diseases. Dietitians Association of Australia spokeswoman Tania Ferraretto agreed taking too much of some vitamins could be dangerous, and recommended people seek adequate nutrients through their diets.
As a trainer I see many people taking vitamins in mega doses. The belief seems to be that if 100% of the daily allowance in good, then 1000% is better. This is far from the truth. In the best of cases, your body will eliminate the excess, in the worst case, the build up becomes toxic and damaging. Antioxidants are used by the body as protection against free radicals, which are molecules produced during normal metabolism. These can damage the body if they flourish in an uncontrolled way as a result of illness, overexposure to toxins or ageing. It is thought antioxidants such as vitamin C can bring health benefits by attacking free radicals, and many people take them as a precaution.
The review does not offer any biological explanation as to why supplements can cause harm, although it has been suggested that betacarotene, for example, might interfere with the body’s use of fats. There is no suggestion from the review that a healthy diet including plenty of vegetables and fruit natural sources of antioxidants is harmful.
