October 22, 2015 general

Too often the media is a bit fuzzy about the details in stories about dietary supplements. In fact, I could probably spend full time writing “clarifications” of what the health news actually means for the public. Here are some recent examples:

Underestimated value

When a study appears to show no value for supplements, where are the investigative journalists asking the tough questions? Last week a CBS headline read “Calcium, vitamin D do not lower colon cancer risk, study finds”. In spite of previous studies hinting that calcium helped reduce the risk of polyps, this study found that it didn’t. I’m not surprised because as we discussed earlier this month, there are issues with calcium, especially at their high 1,200 mg dose. (A similar study with magnesium might have a dramatically more positive outcome.) Knowing the importance of vitamin D for proper functioning of the immune and other systems, I wondered about that part. It turns out that the subjects were only given 1,000 IU of D which is not enough to do much. Recent research shows that a more realistic dose of vitamin D should be more on the order of 7,000 IU or we need to be in the sun a lot more. Note: The control group was not given any vitamin D. I really don’t know how they could ethically conduct such a study.

Mistaken identity

Initial reports about Lamar Odom being hospitalized after collapsing claimed that the culprit was supplements. Unfortunately some of the public probably never heard anything more. (Lamar is known for being the husband of Khloé Kardashian…he also plays basketball for the LA Lakers.) Such a side effect seems impossible with a supplement. Later it was revealed that he downed an overdose (10) “sex-enhancing supplements” containing the active drug used in prescription Viagra. Yes, drugs in supplements. Oh, and he also used cocaine. Beware the drug-laced supplement known as “Reload”. (The makers should be jailed because they are breaking the law.)

Exaggerated risks

That leads us to another headline which blared that 23,000 people per year visit an emergency room as a result of dietary supplements. While that may true technically, the meaning becomes clearer with additional information:

• • About 25% of adult supplement-related ER visits were associated with weight-loss products and 10% with energy supplements. These types of supplements, just like the sex pills mentioned above, are subject to both contamination with drugs and to outright abuse. The stimulants in them can cause lightheadedness and a racing heart, both of which are alarming.
  • Among senior citizens, 38% had a pill or part of a pill get stuck somewhere on the way down. (Perhaps they attempted too big a pill or did not drink enough water. Or maybe their prescription drugs caused a dry mouth.)
  • About 20% of those ER visits involved children who accidentally took the products unsupervised. Some visits may have just been precautions by worried parents, but iron tablets can be lethal. That is why they are supposed to be in childproof bottles.
  • In many cases sensible doses and instructions weren’t followed.
  • In some cases, entirely separate factors were to blame for the problem and supplements just happened to be at the scene of the crime.
  • The study was not based on the official Adverse Event Reports system which documents to the FDA serious complaints about supplements.
  • To put 23,000 trips to the ER in perspective, that is 0.0001687% of the hospital visits per year. Painting supplements with such a broad negative brush is like implying that all food is bad because of the 200,000 ER visits a year due to reactions to foods like strawberries.

With the side effects of prescription drugs killing hundreds of thousands each year, perhaps the researchers’ attention could be directed more productively.