A Scientist Debunks The 'Magic' Of Vitamins And Supplements
by Jonathan Hamilton
NPR
July 23, 2013 6:26 AM
A pediatrician who spent years defending childhood vaccines against the likes of actress/activist Jenny McCarthy has launched an assault on megavitamins and dietary supplements.
"If you take large quantities of vitamin A, vitamin E, beta carotene [or] selenium you increase your risk of cancer, risk of heart disease, and you could shorten your life," says Dr. Paul Offit, a researcher at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
One big problem with dietary supplements is a 1994 law that exempts them from the tighter scrutiny the FDA applies to its regulation of medicines, Offit says. So the makers of a garlic supplement can say that it "supports cardiovascular health" even though a government study found that garlic supplements didn't lower cholesterol. Meanwhile, Offit says, patients clearly benefit from a range of FDA-approved statin drugs that actually do what garlic supplements claim to do.
Read the story here.........
No comments:
Post a Comment