Supplements don’t work?
Prove it. I can’t help but shake my head when I see all the recent press that has been given to supplements, denying their effectiveness.
The mainstream media breathlessly report that supplements don’t work, but that there’s no scientific evidence to support their claim.
I’d like to sit these folks in the media down and ask them to take a deep, calming breath. Next, I’d ask them what on earth they were talking about. I’m wondering if anyone in media thinks critically anymore about what they’re reporting.
If it were true that supplements do not work, then why is the FDA suddenly so intent on putting the vitamin and supplement industry in its crosshairs in order to regulate their products as “drugs?” If supplements do not work—the way they claim the research shows—then why would it be considered a drug?
I would think the media would step back and take a look at the bigger picture, rather than just automatically snatching for the next sound bite or headline. Instead, they parrot these outlandish claims, which just so happens to please their biggest advertisers: Big Pharma.
These research findings are bogus and slanted toward the demands of special interest groups that fund the research. I’m not questioning the intelligence of these researchers—I’m sure they’re all quite bright individuals. Bright enough to know who’s signing their checks!
The special interest groups I’m talking about, of course, are none other than the drug companies. Who else do you think gives those big, fat grants to universities? It’s also funded by taxpayers like you and me—through our representatives in government. And what government agency relies on millions of dollars from the drug companies they are supposed to regulate? The FDA.
As you can see, conflicts of interest abound.
One piece of “evidence” that I’d like to shred is the oft-cited studies in mainstream media about vitamin E and the quality of its effect on LDL (bad) cholesterol. One recent study out of a major medical institution suggested vitamin E could kill you faster than cigarettes! It was roundly criticized by many scientists and statisticians for its questionable methods and conclusions.
I’ve never heard anything so outlandish in my life.
But when you have a poorly designed study, you get poor conclusions. The vitamin E study is a classic example.
Readers of my newsletter know vitamin E is composed of eight related substances—tocopherols and tocotrienols—that work together as a team.
Most of the research that’s been done has focused on just one of its eight substances—alpha-tocopherol—and it’s effect on LDL (bad) cholesterol. The problem with that is, alpha-tocopherol is not the form that acts on LDL—it’s gamma tocopherol. Which means, they’re not even looking at the right thing! So of course vitamin E wouldn’t have an effect on cholesterol… they were looking at the wrong substance!
Vitamin E is just one example of the misinformation the drug companies are peddling. As a general rule, blanket statements on health matters transmitted to the public through the popular press can generally by ignored.
When it comes to supplements, you have to ask (just as you do with any medication) why you’re taking it in the first place. Are you taking a multivitamin for general health support—and a blanket insurance policy—to make sure you’re not coming up short on one or more key nutrients? Or are you taking a supplement, such as fish oil, to help protect against disease? In fact, fish oil has been shown in several good studies to help protect a sick heart from further damage—a good example of a supplement that certainly does work.
A responsible health care practitioner will take the trouble to educate himself and make a balanced decision based on the totality of scientific evidence available, combined with his own clinical experience. When it comes to supplements, because of the wide variety of types of evidence and a clear bias in favor of drugs, many doctors fail to spend the time and effort to educate themselves to any depth in non-drug treatments, supplements in particular.
In fact, a wide variety of supplements can be safe and effective tools in supporting optimum health, as well as preventing and treating disease. Some doctors know this and are able to take much better care of their patients as a result.
So the next time you hear a sweeping statement such as “supplements don’t work,” just consider the source—literally. And then check back with me. I’ll give it to you straight.
