Hidden dangers in vitamins, supplements?

[Lewis]

A new Consumer Reports investigation examines 10 unknown dangers associated with vitamins, herbs and supplements

Vitamins and supplements could do more harm than good in some cases, according to a new report in Consumer Reports.
The report, in Consumer Reports' September issue, investigates 10 unknown dangers associated with taking vitamins, minerals, herbs, and nutritional supplements. More than half of all Americans take supplements, and the supplement industry has grown to a $27 billion industry.
But supplements aren't necessarily risk-free, according to Dr. Jose Mosquera, medical adviser for Consumer Reports. While patients may believe supplements are safe because they are natural, he says not all supplements are truly all-natural.
Between 2007 and mid-April 2012, the Food and Drug Administration received more than 6,300 reports of serious adverse events linked to dietary supplements, including vitamins and herbs, according to Consumer Reports. The reports include 115 deaths and more than 2,100 hospitalizations.
Supplements should only be taken when there is a true deficiency, Mosquera says, and people should talk to their doctors before starting a supplement.
“Supplements and vitamins should never be a substitute for a healthy lifestyle with a nutritional plan,†he says. He adds that it’s better to get vitamins from healthy eating than from taking supplements.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), an association representing dietary supplement manufacturers, counters, “There is a strong body of scientific evidence that supports the benefits of dietary supplements and these products have a very strong profile for safety.â€
However, Consumer Reports says some supposedly natural products are laced with the same active ingredients in prescription drugs, and people often experience unwanted side effects while taking the supplements.
The supplements for body building, enhancing sexual performance, and losing weight are the most likely to be laced, says Mosquera. He advises, “Protect yourself by trying to avoid these types of supplements, and have a conversation with your doctor about lifestyle changes.â€
The high doses of vitamins and minerals in some supplements present another danger. People that take more than 100% of the recommended daily intake of a nutrient could have adverse reactions.
Existing laws make it difficult for the FDA to regulate problematic supplements, according to the report. Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, most manufacturers don’t need FDA approval to sell dietary supplements, and the FDA must prove a supplement is unsafe before taking it off the market.
The report also cautions that the FDA doesn’t require supplements to have warning labels unless they contain iron. For example, some products with St. John’s Wort don’t warn that it is known to reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills and blood thinners.
No supplement has been shown to cure a major disease, says the report. New evidence shows that even Omega-3 pills, widely believed to reduce the risk of heart disease, may not be as effective as once thought.
More than 150 million Americans take dietary supplements each year, the Council for Responsible Nutrition notes.
"Consumers need to be savvy and buy from companies with strong brand reputations or look for those that have third party certification on their labels," the council says. "It is also important for consumers to talk to their health care professionals and understand that dietary supplements are intended to supplement a healthy diet and do not serve as substitutes for drugs."

 

[tim-from-pa]

Vitamins and supplements could do more harm than good in some cases.......More than half of all Americans take supplements.......

The key here is "in some cases". I'll say. Very, very, very FEW cases. Like a handful of people out of the population size of the USA.

.....Supplements should only be taken when there is a true deficiency, Mosquera says, and people should talk to their doctors before starting a supplement.
“Supplements and vitamins should never be a substitute for a healthy lifestyle with a nutritional plan,†he says. He adds that it’s better to get vitamins from healthy eating than from taking supplements.

And therein lies the problem. Doctors don't know healthy eating from shinola.

Already they condemn "bad" saturated fats, the very thing needed to absorb vitamins, and condemn NATURAL foods such as meats, eggs, butter, etc. in favor of "put a little love in your heart" polyunsaturated fat-loaded margarine and other highly processed foods. That will help strip your vitamins faster than Melissa stripped for the virus writer. So people will eat their "healthy" low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium diets and wonder why they still are sicker than ever. No wonder, they probably are vitamin deficient from that "healthy diet" the doctors told them to eat that's "better than a vitamin supplement". :crazy

People that take more than 100% of the recommended daily intake of a nutrient could have adverse reactions......

And this is the biggest crock. The RDA's are so abysmally low that it's impossible to get an overdose. As for the so-called 50% of the people who take supplements, I'll bet dollars to donuts these are merely Centrum A-Z type vitamins, and maybe one or two specific ones thrown in for good measure (such as vitamin C for colds). Then when they are still sick (because they don't get a balance) doctors then say "they have not cured any major disease". Oh yeah? What about scurvy? Can drugs cure that?

A true vitamin taker is a person such as myself---- probably about two dozen pills a day, although some are redundant (more than one pill of the same). And even then I can probably improve. Most people would not have the patience to take that much. I am definitely in the minority, not the 50% category. But I'll say one thing. I hardly ever go to the doctor, hardly ever and I'm 53 years old and on no prescribed meds (Geez... I wonder if that's the reason why they think I should stay away from those vitamins???)

This article is so full of holes, I think I get a bigger laugh out of reading this than getting a laugh out of the buggy-eyed cult leader Marshall Applewhite. And trust me, Applewhite gives me big laughs. :biglol

 

[Christ_empowered]

I don't doubt that there have been some supplements laced with Rx products. Happens. For the most part, though, vitamins are safe. I have an Orthomolecular line up myself. Lots of B3, b-100, C, E, other stuff. Cost$ in the short-run; save$ in the long run on doc visits, psych and skin meds, and overall quality of life.

I get the sense that Big Pharma is trying to scare consumers away from alternative medicine so they can make even more $$$.

 

[tim-from-pa]

I don't doubt that there have been some supplements laced with Rx products. Happens. For the most part, though, vitamins are safe. I have an Orthomolecular line up myself. Lots of B3, b-100, C, E, other stuff. Cost$ in the short-run; save$ in the long run on doc visits, psych and skin meds, and overall quality of life.

I get the sense that Big Pharma is trying to scare consumers away from alternative medicine so they can make even more $$$.

That's true about big Pharma. Ironically, they are also into making vitamins knowing there's people like me who won't take drugs. So they make money where they can. This is why I megadose. Even vitamins are processed and I doubt what I'm getting so I'll grab onto what I can get! If it makes me much healthier, and it makes them somewhat happy, so be it. Although I'm sure they look at the likes of me the same manner someone voters vote for the "lesser of the two evils" not because one likes the candidate. It's a game. Reminds me of the Joe South song "Games people play".

As for being laced with drugs, I did not even address that issue because

1) It's probably a scare tactic, and
2) Even if some were, I'd have to wonder about the people themselves duped enough to order without checking their sources. Likewise, a driveway paver came up to me looking for business..... yeah, right. Looked like gypsies. If I was dumb enough to fall for it, then I get what I deserve. But that don't make most driveway pavers that way just because there's a scant few that want to swindle people. Same with supplements.

 

[elijah23]

I took an iron supplement once and soon after found myself itching terribly all over my body.

Soon after I took a vitamin pill, I experienced bad joint pain in a finger or two.