Another story today poo-pooing nutritional supplements. This one is on NPR . It reports on the recent University of Minnesota study of 
older women who took dietary supplements over the course of many years.
The study shows a 2% greater mortality rate with the women who took supplements vs. the control group who did not. Of course, this study, with its limited parameters and lack of direct causal evidence, now leads to headlines on Fox News such as “Are Your Supplements Killing You?” Wonderful.
Several key points to consider:
1) Any supplement that claims to “treat” a disease should be shunned. That’s bush league. A supplement is simply that, something that “supplements” one’s diet, especially if a person feels his or her diet is lacking in certain macro or micro nutrients. A supplement is not medicine, not a drug, and not a meal replacement.
2) Supplements are not intended to be the fountain of youth and extend one’s life to 125 years. The NPR story today quotes researchers who are harsh on supplements because people who take them don’t live longer than those who don’t. Again, any nutritional product offering a longer life should be black balled. I look at it this way; Most people will live into their 70s and 80s, a few into their 90s, a rare few (but more each year) into their 100s. No matter how long you live, something is likely going to set in late in life, be it cancer, a cardiovascular condition, cognitive issues like Alzheimers, etc. The key is how to stay as healthy as possible up to the end. In other words, maintaining a good quality of life before expiring. I take several–not many–supplements, and my hope is that I will be pretty functional and live a great life in my later years, then die pretty quickly, rather than contracting something in my 60′s or 70′s and living with it for 10 or 20 years. It’s not life extension. It’s not even prevention. It’s more like preemption and delay. I may have just coined a new phrase.
3) Supplements, when consumed as directed, can have functional value. The key term is “functional,” as in helping some part of your body function in a healthier way. Not “curative,” not “reversal.” Functional. Take EpiCor, for example. Research has demonstrated it helps “balance” immune function in the body, thereby supporting a healthier immune system. Hopefully, that healthier immune function pays off with any number of health benefits down the road. That doesn’t mean that some health condition won’t emerge that that could knock you off your feet and eventually shut you down. All it means is that you may be giving your immune system and your general health a better chance through supplementation, especially if the rest of your lifestyle–no smoking, exercise, healthy diet, sleep, stress management–is managed well. And, to be sure, anyone who takes massive amounts of supplements over the long term at many times the recommended daily amount may indeed by damaging themselves. That happens a lot.
And one more thing. If supplementation is ineffective and even harmful, how come a majority of physicians and nurses take them? So, please, medical research community, quit treating supplements like they are supposed to be drugs or medicine. They are not. They are just nutrients, some of higher quality than others, depending on the source and manufacturer, and they can play a supporting role–not an ultimate solution– in maintaining good health.
Another story today poo-pooing nutritional supplements. This one is on NPR . It reports on the recent University of Minnesota study of
older women who took dietary supplements over the course of many years.
The study shows a 2% greater mortality rate with the women who took supplements vs. the control group who did not. Of course, this study, with its limited parameters and lack of direct causal evidence, now leads to headlines on Fox News such as “Are Your Supplements Killing You?” Wonderful.
Several key points to consider:
1) Any supplement that claims to “treat” a disease should be shunned. That’s bush league. A supplement is simply that, something that “supplements” one’s diet, especially if a person feels his or her diet is lacking in certain macro or micro nutrients. A supplement is not medicine, not a drug, and not a meal replacement.
2) Supplements are not intended to be the fountain of youth and extend one’s life to 125 years. The NPR story today quotes researchers who are harsh on supplements because people who take them don’t live longer than those who don’t. Again, any nutritional product offering a longer life should be black balled. I look at it this way; Most people will live into their 70s and 80s, a few into their 90s, a rare few (but more each year) into their 100s. No matter how long you live, something is likely going to set in late in life, be it cancer, a cardiovascular condition, cognitive issues like Alzheimers, etc. The key is how to stay as healthy as possible up to the end. In other words, maintaining a good quality of life before expiring. I take several–not many–supplements, and my hope is that I will be pretty functional and live a great life in my later years, then die pretty quickly, rather than contracting something in my 60′s or 70′s and living with it for 10 or 20 years. It’s not life extension. It’s not even prevention. It’s more like preemption and delay. I may have just coined a new phrase.
3) Supplements, when consumed as directed, can have functional value. The key term is “functional,” as in helping some part of your body function in a healthier way. Not “curative,” not “reversal.” Functional. Take EpiCor, for example. Research has demonstrated it helps “balance” immune function in the body, thereby supporting a healthier immune system. Hopefully, that healthier immune function pays off with any number of health benefits down the road. That doesn’t mean that some health condition won’t emerge that that could knock you off your feet and eventually shut you down. All it means is that you may be giving your immune system and your general health a better chance through supplementation, especially if the rest of your lifestyle–no smoking, exercise, healthy diet, sleep, stress management–is managed well. And, to be sure, anyone who takes massive amounts of supplements over the long term at many times the recommended daily amount may indeed by damaging themselves. That happens a lot.
And one more thing. If supplementation is ineffective and even harmful, how come a majority of physicians and nurses take them? So, please, medical research community, quit treating supplements like they are supposed to be drugs or medicine. They are not. They are just nutrients, some of higher quality than others, depending on the source and manufacturer, and they can play a supporting role–not an ultimate solution– in maintaining good health.