Vitamins related to higher death risk in women

Vitamins related to higher death risk in women
When it comes to vitamins, looks like it could be too much of something good, say researchers who reported a relationship between use and higher rates of mortality among older women.

Experts have suspected for some time that supplements can only be beneficial if a person has a nutrient deficiency.

And the excess can even harm as the study in Archives of Internal Medicine found.

All women, 50 and 60, were generally well fed, but many have decided to take supplements.

Multivitamins, folic acid, vitamin B6, magnesium, zinc, copper and iron, in particular, seems to increase risk of mortality.

The researchers believe that consumers are purchasing supplements that provide no evidence that any benefit.
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Based on existing evidence, we see little justification for broad general use of dietary supplements "
The authors of the study

They are quick to note that their study was based on the 38,000 U.S. women who took part in it remembering what vitamins and minerals had taken over the past two decades.

It is difficult to control for all other factors such as general physical health, which could have influenced the results.

But they say their findings suggest that supplements should only be used if there is a strong reason to do medical basis because of the potential to cause harm.

"Based on existing evidence, we see little justification for the general and widespread use of dietary supplements," said Dr. Jaakko Mursu University of Eastern Finland and his research colleagues.
Less is more

In the study, iron tablets were strongly linked with a small (2.4%) increased risk of death, like many other supplements. The link to the iron dose-dependent, that is, the more of it the individual, the greater the risk was.
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Too much can be toxic and easy to take without realizing more than the recommended daily allowance "
Helen Bond of the British Dietetic Association

By contrast, calcium supplementation appears to reduce the risk of death. However, the researchers say this finding needs further investigation and are not recommended for people taking calcium supplements unless your doctor tells you to treat a deficiency.

Gluud Christian doctors and Goran Bjelakovic that research review Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews to assess the best evidence, said: "We believe that the paradigm of" more is better "is wrong."

They say that dietary supplements has shifted from preventing deficiency to try to promote wellness and prevent illness, and caution: "We believe that all the micronutrients, the risks associated with inadequate intake and too big."

Helen Bond of the British Dietetic Association, said some people, like the elderly, might have to take certain supplements. For example, vitamin D is recommended for people over 65 years.

But he said that generally, people should be able to get all the vitamins and minerals needed for healthy balanced diet.

She said some took supplements as an insurance policy, assuming erroneously that they could not do any harm. "However, the excess can be toxic and is easy to inadvertently take more than the recommended daily amount."
Vitamins related to higher death risk in women