Vitamin and Supplement Studies – 4 Things you may not know about them.

Every so often, a news report comes out quoting a study that claims to show the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of a certain vitamin or supplement. There may be times when all, or most, of the previous studies showed positive results for the nutrient being studied, and the current study contradicts all of those findings, and gets the media coverage. So what are five things you should be asking about the study?

1. Who, or what company, did the study and who funded the study? Many times, studies on vitamins and other alternative nutrients that were reported to have negative results was funded or conducted by one or several drug companies. One can draw their own conclusions from these studies. Better yet, a few weeks after the report comes out, do an internet search – many times it will found that the study contained flaws, which may include any of the following.

2. It may have used a certain group of people who are not representative of the general population. They may have been people with an already advanced disease where the nutrient would not work the same as it would with a healthy person, or someone with a minor problem.

3. Perhaps they used extremely low or high amounts of the nutrient in the study, or they gave it to the subjects too little or too often. For example, vitamin C, to be most effective, should be taken 2-3 times per day - in the morning, afternoon, and evening, as most forms only stay in the system for 4-6 hours.

4. Did they use natural or synthetic ingredients? In several studies which showed negative results for vitamin E, Vitamin A, and Beta Carotene, synthetic forms were used. The media made no mention of this. However, if the study was checked, it would have been seen that the synthetic forms had been used. In most, if not all, cases synthetic forms are no good, and may cause problems (usually the synthetic forms have a “dl” in front of the main ingredient, and the natural form has a “d.” So d-alpha vitamin E is natural, dl-alpha is synthetic. These same designations are used for amino acids).

If you hear a negative report about some vitamin or supplement, saying that it is unsafe, or doesn't do anything to improve your health, and is a waste of money, but all the past evidence shows just the opposite, there is a good chance that it falls into one of the above four categories. Should you then disregard all negative studies regarding supplements? No – but you should research the current study, as well as previous findings, to find the truth.

Keep in mind the following when considering the safety of vitamins and supplements, especially compared to drugs. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that an estimated 106,000 hospitalized patients die each year from drugs that, by medical standards, are properly prescribed and properly administered. More than 2 million more suffer serious side effects. According to the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service: “The 2003 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposures Surveillance System (1) states that there have been only two deaths allegedly caused by vitamins. Almost half of all Americans take nutritional supplements every day, some 145,000,000 individual doses daily, for a total of over 53 billion doses annually. And from that, two alleged deaths? That is a product safety record without equal.”

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A WORD ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF DRUGS ON NUTRIENTS

Depletion! If you are taking prescription or OTC medications, then you probably know about some of the side effects they may cause. In addition to the side effects, or possibly one of the causes of the side effects, and what many people and doctors don't realize, is the fact that drugs deplete certain vitamins, minerals, hormones, and other nutrients. This can happen in one of two ways – either by blocking their absorption, or by causing your body to eliminate them in less time than it normally would. The result is that you end up with deficiency symptoms that can have serious consequences (heart and nerve damage, stomach problems, etc).

Depending on which drugs you're taking will determine which nutrients are getting depleted. These can include B vitamins, Vitamin K (needed for clotting and bones), friendly bacteria (which help balance immune function and digestion, among other benefits), coenzyme Q-10 (for cellular energy, the greatest concentration being in the heart), iron, zinc, and hormones, such as melatonin if you are taking beta-blockers. If it is not contra-indicated, you can take supplemental nutrients to help get your system back in balance. However, sometimes taking supplemental vitamins, minerals, or hormones may interfere with the drugs that you're taking – so always check with your doctor and find out if you can take certain nutrients.

If your doctor is not aware of nutrient depletion, and is unable to answer your questions relating to that, you can find answers at several sites on the internet. I entered “"prescription drug" deplete nutrient” into Google and the first listing was an excellent chart showing what prescription drugs deplete which nutrients, with a link from that chart to a chart of OTC drugs and which nutrients they deplete. For drug nutrient interactions, a Google search with “"prescription drug" nutrient interactions chart” yielded good results. Another good source of information is your pharmacist.

The population of the US (and much of the world, for that matter) is already nutrient deficient due to poor eating habits (fast foods, processed foods, sugar, artificial ingredients, etc), and depleted foods. Taking medicines that also depletes them can add to the problems and make matters worse. For example, the number one mineral deficiency in this country is magnesium. Complications from magnesium depletion include muscle weakness and conduction abnormalities, twitching, depression, hypertension, heart disease and cardiac arrhythmias. So if you are taking medication that blocks absorption of magnesium or causes it to be excreted from your system, you're adding to the problem - unless you take supplemental magnesium and eat foods rich in magnesium.

What should you do? Well, besides adding a good multi-vitamin to your diet, as well as other nutrients that may be getting depleted, you need to take a good look at your diet and exercise program and make the necessary changes to them to get on the road to health. Then perhaps you will be able to discontinue the drugs and get back in the balance nature intended.

If you would like more information and education about diet, exercise, and nutrition, please visit my site at stayfit4ever.com. Thank you for stopping by.