Antioxidant vitamins can shorten your life

[Deetee]

Or so those pesky Danes say.
It appears that high doses of the "antioxidant" vitamins A, E, and beta-carotene may shorten life span, and contribute to the diseases that "nutritionists" claim they can prevent, namely cancer and heart disease. High dose vitamin C and selenium had no detrimental effect (but no benefits either).
Paper here.

Of course, the nutritional supplement industry is quick to rubbish the claims:

However, Dr Ann Walker, of the Health Supplements Information Service, said the findings of the study were "worthless".

I wonder what she is a doctor of?

ETA She is the "doctor" David Colquhoun had a run in with I gather.

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

This isn't really shock news, is it? Taking too much of anything is bad for health.

I find it interesting is to listen to the reasons people give for taking dietary supplements.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

This isn't really shock news, is it? Taking too much of anything is bad for health.

I find it interesting is to listen to the reasons people give for taking dietary supplements.

The only supplement I take is vitamin D in the winter because I don't drink much milk (was allergic/intolerant as a child and never got a taste for it) and I don't like fish. And there has been some research linking low vitD with SAD which I have.

 

[Puppycow]

OK. I wonder how much my family wasted giving us multivitamins and vitamin C supplements as kids. And that's just a start. My mom also took us to a chiropractor and gave us various homeopathic "remedies" and other similar woo remedies. Oh well. Live and learn. I shan't repeat the same mistakes with my kids.

 

[fls]

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/297/8/842

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

Yeah, I remember that meta-analysis from last year. Anyone know what's so special about the Danish one?

 

[Professor Yaffle]

It's a Cochrane.

 

[Cuddles]

High doses of vitamin A can shorten your life? What a surprise.

 

[Mojo]

Or so those pesky Danes say.

However, Dr Ann Walker, of the Health Supplements Information Service. said

...

"Vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements not only have proven health benefits, they are essential to the maintenance of good health..."

"Essential to the maintenance of good health"? Shades of Brass Eye:

"That is scientific fact. There is no real evidence for it but it's scientific fact."

 

[quarky]

We consumers sure do get jerked around about food.
We speak of the nutrients, in say, a carrot, as if there is a standard carrot...when, in fact, the nutrient levels of vegetables are wildly varying.

Its safe to say, I think, that our usual foods have become degraded.
In the U.S., our most popular veggies are nearly worthless, except for some roughage.We like vadalia onions and iceberg lettuce because of their lack of nutrients and flavor.

 

[Acleron]

The Times found a different spokeswoman for the Health Supplements Information Service.

Pamela Mason: Antioxidant vitamins, including these noted in this Cochrane review, are essential for health

.

At least they are consistent.

She continues

Trials using antioxidant supplements have shown inconsistent findings and yet another review or meta-analysis is not going to tell us anything at this stage that we don’t already know

Translated as, this isn't good news and we don't want anymore of it.

 

[jon]

Full text of the cochrane review is here http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/homepages/106568753/CD007176.pdf

Lots of media coverage on this today: some discussion on the quackometer and holfordwatch. The BBC Radio 5 discussion on this review is very good, imo.