Vitamins: Help or Hazard?

Good morning general practitioners of the Australian medical association of Queensland. I, Shaun Rudd, stand before you today on behalf of the Queensland branch council, to shed light on a subject that has been kept in the dark for too long. I agree with the research that has found Vitamins and Antioxidant supplements are increasing our mortality. It has always been the belief that antioxidant supplements and other vitamins have helped to fight our everlasting battle between our bodies and the natural aging process.

But reality, are vitamin supplements merely a vessel in which companies extort money from anxious citizens trying to avoid the inevitable? Medicine has and always will be about helping the sick, and if vitamins have proven to be nothing more than an expensive placebo it is our duty to expose them for what they really are.

Many of you would know that as general practitioners a comprehensive study covering a wide range of antioxidants and vitamins has been published by the American Medical Association last week. The research conducted by a Danish hospital research team revealed a startling and dire truth about medications that are supposedly beneficial to our health. The report was accomplished with the trial of 68 antioxidant supplements and involved 230,000 adults.

I believe the research has exposed some alarming information for the Australian public. The specific vitamins supplements that have come under scrutiny are beta carotene, vitamin A, vitamin E, Vitamin C and selenium. Vitamin A is “said” to help maintain normal reproduction, vision and immune function. However when looked at separately the research showed that Vitamin A when taken in supplement form causes a 16 per cent rise in mortality. A closely related nutrient, beta carotene caused an increase of death by 7 per cent and vitamin E by 4 per cent.

The Danish study found that the top-selling supplement, vitamin C, had neither a positive or negative effect on mortality. Selenium also returned non conclusive results. I believe its bad press for pills that are supposed to have precisely the opposite effect. Any medication that has the risk of lifting the mortality of the Australian public should be recognized as problem for the AMA. We must do everything to educate the consumers within the antioxidant supplement market about the research.

A majority of people who consume vitamin or herb supplements presume that because the substance is “natural” it can not be harmful. Professor Luis Vitetta said “There’s a billion-dollar industry based on this idea that people can prevent disease when they’re actually putting themselves at extra risk”. As GP’s I believe it needs to become our obligation to ensure the Australian public understand the reality of antioxidant supplements and vitamins. Anxious consumers are lured to buy particular products because they claim an antioxidant effect. Profit-driven manufacturers insist their medication eliminates the free radical molecules that are responsible for “oxidative stress”.

I along with other critics doubt whether oxidative stress even exists! However it is known that these “radical” molecules are what keep things ticking over and are actually what fine-tunes the metabolism. I believe it can actually be quite unhealthy to flood the cells with super doses of antioxidants. We must do everything we can to encourage patients to rely on our recommendations and prescriptions more regularly rather then using medically useless home remedies.

As a result of false beliefs and manufacturers fabricated claims the Australian Bureau of Statistics discovered an 11% increase in people regularly taking vitamins between 2001 and 2004. As members of the AMA it is vital that we acknowledge the research that has been uncovered to benefit the Australian public.

We must realize that this medical inquiry has not been the first study to expose the faults of a medication. It has been three years since the publication of a huge trial on hormone replacement therapy that shocked many women’s lives. The study of more then 16,000 American women was cut-short by three years after research discovered a strong connection with the prolonged use of combined oestrogen and progestin with increases in the risk of breast cancer, stroke, blood clots and heart disease.

The report from the ABC’s Health Matters website says that now “More than half a million Australian women using combined hormone replacement therapy are being told to be cautious”. This report was another example of a treatment that has been proven to have detrimental effects.

At the moment there is a case for taking multivitamins that is recognized amongst the medical community. Currently many patients under the direction of a medical practitioner take folic acid when pregnant or multiple B vitamins for cardiovascular and mental deficits. It is similarly believed that for the elderly or those in nursing homes they should take multivitamins for added nutrition.

The Complementary Health care Council’s Executive director Dr Tony Lewis spoke recently in support of vitamins and antioxidant supplements saying “Antioxidant substances have been around for a long time and are generally judged to be safe”. I believe that until the research is conclusive we should not take the risk. The Complementary Health care Council has also questioned how the Danish research applies to Australia as its report combined studies from all around the world. The council also contends Australia’s recommended levels of antioxidants as safe.

I however strongly agree with the research that found Vitamins and Antioxidant supplements are increasing our mortality. The beliefs from patients that if the substance is natural it can not be harmful, along with mendacious vitamin manufacturers suggest that we must do everything we can for Australians. I believe that until the research is conclusive for all vitamins and antioxidant supplements we should not take the risk.

I recommend improving the education of doctors so they can give accurate advice to patients seeking information on vitamins. We should do everything we can to further advance a research program to meticulously examine and further improve the Danish report.