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BLOG: Studies discounting multivitamins use questionable methods, supplements
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A trio of studies published in Annals of Internal Medicine received much press by casting doubt on the value of vitamin supplements. In addition, an accompanying editorial concluded that they do not prevent chronic disease or death and not only is their use not justified, but they should be avoided.
Why are pharmaceuticals not subjected to this type of scrutiny? Are any of them really proven to prevent chronic disease or death?
By the way, this was not a “real” study, but a meta-analysis of three studies on the effect of vitamins on three specific chronic diseases. I see no definition of a “multivitamin,” which can have only two or many more ingredients. Also, I see they used placebo pills for 12 years, and I have to wonder about compliance with that regimen.
Instead of using super food powders, whole food concentrates or food-based supplements, such studies are based on low-grade synthetic vitamins and inorganic minerals.
In his article, “Mainstream media attacks multivitamins in yet another example of quack science catapulted into the news by pharma interests,” at NaturalNews.com, Mike Adams says, “Not coincidentally, these brands of low-grade multivitamins are actually manufactured by companies owned by pharmaceutical interests. They really do have a financial incentive to make multivitamins look bad, and so their multivitamin formulations are intentionally designed to fail.”
One has to wonder if the original Age-Related Eye Disease Study nutrients were formulated to prove that vitamins do not work against age-related macular degeneration.
While we hate to think that politics plays a role in human health, in reality it does. In the words of Andrew Weil, MD, “We do not have a health care system in America. We have a disease-management system – one that depends on ruinously expensive drugs and surgeries that treat health conditions after they manifest rather than giving our citizens simple diet, lifestyle and therapeutic tools to keep them healthy.”
So, pardon any cynicism, but we’re talking about two different approaches to true health care, and the financial incentive to keep people sick is winning.