Not all vitamins are good for you...

Bad news for the vitamin industry.

A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine examining the use of vitamin and mineral supplements among 38,772 postmenopausal women over a 19 year period found that copper supplements and high-dose iron supplements actually caused a statistically significant increase in mortality. Daily multi-vitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, magnesium, and zinc were also found to cause a slight increase in the mortality rate.

Use of a daily calcium supplement, on the other hand, was associated with a lower risk of death.

Absolute increases in risk were low, and ranged from 2.4% with multivitamins to 18% with copper. Use of calcium supplementation was associated with a 3.8% lower risk of death.

The mortality risk associated with iron supplementation increased in a dose-dependent manner, rising with doses more than 200 mg/day, and highest for doses more than 400 mg/day.

"Based on existing evidence, we see little justification for the general and widespread use of dietary supplements," the authors wrote. "We recommend that they be used with strong medically based cause, such as symptomatic nutrient deficiency disease."

Taking dietary supplements to hopefully improve health and prevent diseases is widespread in the U.S., with about half of American adults using supplements, according to the study authors. Annual sales of supplements exceed $20 billion.

Editor's note: Eat a healthy diet. Save your money. Older women should take calcium.

Vitamin D: the under-appreciated wonder-vitamin?

We all think of Vitamin D as "the sunshine vitamin", something that's good for your bones and as a supplement in milk. It turns out that this humble vitamin may have a whole lot more going for it.

A number of scientific studies have been looking at the links between Vitamin D deficiency and various disease states, and the results are quite startling.

Low or deficient Vitamin D levels have been found in association with:
- obesity & pre-diabetes,
- heart disease and stroke,
- metabolic syndrome,
- high blood pressure,
- elevated cholesterol,
- neurodegenerative diseases, such as MS and Parkinson's
- certain forms of cancer,
- seasonal affective disorder (SAD),
- some autoimmune diseases.


Now, before you get too excited, association is not the same as "the cause". It's like saying red paint is found in association with fast Italian sports cars...it doesn't mean that the paint makes the car go faster, right? Similarly, taking supplements has not yet been proven to bestow these health benefits...but the linkage is extremely interesting. Many experts now feel that the recommended daily dose of vitamin D should be increased, but opinions vary on what the new level should be.

Studies are now underway, however, to investigate this very point - and in particular, whether vitamin D supplementation (2000 units per day) can result in measurable health benefits.

If there is a causal connection, Vitamin D supplements, which are cheap, widely available, and have few side effects, could be a big player in health optimization.

Nice write-up also in the New York Times (link)

Herbal Supplements and Surgery - Safe or not?

Herbal supplements are everywhere. And cosmetic surgery patients love them - in a recent survey, 55% of cosmetic surgery patients surveyed took 2 or more supplements, compared to only 24% in the general population. The most commonly used supplements in the survey were: chondroitin, ephedra, echinacea and glucosamine.

Some supplements have some serious side effects that may be problematic, if you are having general anesthesia and surgery.

Here's a quick guide to which supplements should be stopped, and the reasons why. The general recommendation is to stop these supplements two weeks before surgery.

These supplements can cause bleeding problems:
Chondroitin / Glucosamine --- can also cause low blood sugar
Fish Oil
Garlic
Ginger
Gingko
Ginseng --- can also cause low blood pressure under anesthesia
Saw Palmetto
Vitamin E

These supplements affect drug metabolism and can cause excessive sedation:
Echinacea
Goldenseal --- can also cause photosensitivity reactions from laser light
Kava
St. John's Wort --- can also cause low blood pressure under anesthesia
Valerian

Ephedra ("Ma-Huang") - can cause cardiac arrhythmias, stroke, heart attack, low blood pressure under anesthesia


Since the whole idea of cosmetic surgery is to have a wonderful outcome and to minimize the risk of complications, the problems these seemingly-innocent supplements can cause are just not worth it. Please avoid them - and have a smooth recovery!