Attack Of The Killer Antioxidants, or Was It a Prescription Drug That Killed Your Mom and Dad?
By Bill Sardi Yep, those naturally produced molecules called antioxidants that protect plants from free radicals generated by attack from solar radiation, insects, mold, viruses, heat and cold, when concentrated into a pill, could be killers.
Such a reputation certainly befits hemlock, but characterizing essential vitamins like vitamin E and vitamin A along with beta carotene as killers, well, that is a real stretch.
Tagging these nutrients in dietary supplements with a label as �life shortening� is what some analysts did. Of course, it�s OK to prescribe synthetic vitamin A as Accutane, the acne drug that is fraught with horrible side effects. And a carrot provides about 10,000 units of vitamin A activity, about what is found in supplements, so we now must deal with the attack of the killer carrots (subject of upcoming horror movie).
Never mind that most of the American population, save for supplement users, do not consume sufficient amounts of vitamin E to meet established daily requirements for health. For sure, a skull and cross bones will soon be mandated on bottles of vitamin E.
But then again, Cornell University�s list of poisonous plants includes elderberry, horse chestnut, rhubarb and flax, which are commonly available dietary supplements. Yikes, we�ve all been eating poisons!
But let�s point the finger where it ought to be pointed � at the dietary supplements. Let�s go look in their closet. The Poison Control Centers certainly ought to know, they tabulate all the reported adverse reactions from supplements that emanate from calls to their offices. In the 2006 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poison Data System (NPDS), the most recent report available [Clinical Toxicology 45: 815-917, December, 2007], we finally uncovered the hidden data the dietary supplement industry has been hiding. Let�s pin the tail on the right donkey. In 2006 there were 2,403,539 human exposure calls for drugs, supplements and chemicals, as tabulated by the nation�s 60 poison control centers. Here�s the list of the top killers.
Categories associated with largest number of fatalities (Top 25)
Substance
Number
% of all exposures in category
Sedative/hypnotics/antipsychotics
382
0.280
Opioids
307
1.030
Cardiovascular drugs
252
0.310
Acetaminophen in combination
214
0.300
Antidepressants
210
0.250
Stimulants and street drugs
203
0.450
Alcohols
139
0.210
Acetaminophen only
138
0.200
Muscle relaxants
98
0.410
Anticonvulsants
93
0.230
Cyclic antidepressants
75
0.720
Antihistamines
66
0.090
Aspirin alone
61
0.350
Other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
55
0.060
Unknown drug
49
0.280
Oral hypoglycemics
35
0.300
Miscellaneous drugs
27
0.120
Diuretics
25
0.240
Antihistamine/decongestant, without phenylpropanolamine
22
0.040
Hormones and hormone antagonists
20
0.050
Anticoagulants
18
0.290
Dietary supplements
2
0.004
There were 63,317 calls concerning dietary supplements to poison control centers in 2006, about 2.6% of all calls. Mercy, that�s a lot of calls. Given that water is not absolutely safe, any substance at a given dose can produce mortal side effects. Can dietary supplements be made safer by limiting their dosage? Let�s see, the death rate actually dropped about 7% among those taking vitamin D, mostly from supplements. [Arch Intern
Med. 2007 Sep 10; 167(16):1730-7] Then a UCLA study showed that 300 milligrams or more of vitamin C increases the lifespan of adult males by about 6 years. [Epidemiology. 1992 May;3(3):194-202] That�s about 3 times the vitamin C consumed from the typical American diet, so only supplement users would obtain this benefit.
According to a recent report, doctors may only hear one side of the story when it comes to dietary supplements. In reviewing 11 major medical journals, the journals with the most advertising for pharmaceuticals were far more likely to publish articles that concluded dietary supplements are unsafe (67% of these journals versus just 4% of the journals with the fewest pages of drug advertising). [BMC Complementary Alternative Medicine 8: 11, April 9, 2008] This equates with tacit editorial cooperation in demeaning dietary supplements in favor of drugs. �Copyright 2008 Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health, Inc.
Seems to me that one way to really extends life for the average American is by staying away from pharmaceutical drugs.
Working in hospice, we often get people into our facility on a whole boat load of drugs. Hospice generally cuts it all way back. Really down to essentials for comfort. Lo and behold those who we thought would be dead in a week or two or three end up going home to die quite well 6 months or a year later.
Let me tell you. When we think someone is going to die in a week or two they are already looking like death warmed over. Removing drugs extends life. We joke about it all the time a work. Medical people who work in hospice develop a new perspective on pharmaceuticals. So, I can see that these drugs are killing people. Sometimes they come in on 10 to 15 different drugs!
So I might project that thought to include the idea that if you just stay away from pharmaceuticals for most of your life you will live many more years.
That is not to say that pharmaceuticals can not be judiciously used to extend life, as I think they can. Nothing like the right dose of digoxin and lasix for the right person and it can provide an extended quality life for a period of time. There is just a lot that can be done to prevent even the need for digoxin but it has to be done early and consistently. And this goes for a number of scenarios with different medications. Most people don't realize that they can prevent disease and then when things get tough and they want to try to get out of the mess they got themselves into it is just too late. The disease is too advanced, they have lost their strength and capability to intellectually find the way out.
Thanks for posting those charts, Iggy.
__________________ "The nurse should be cheerful, orderly, punctual, patient, full of faith, - receptive to Truth and Love" Mary Baker Eddy
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