BigPharma bullshit or not??

[and-justice-for-all]

Antioxidant supplements tied to death risk.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Beta carotene and vitamins A and E, antioxidant supplements taken by millions to fight disease, may actually raise the risk of death, a review of 68 studies on nearly a quarter-million people said on Tuesday.

The finding drew fire from critics who said it was flawed and based largely on studies of people who were already chronically ill before they were treated with the supplements.

Tuesday's report related only to synthetic supplements and not to fruits and vegetables in everyday diets which are natural and contain less concentrated levels of antioxidants, said the study from the Center for Clinical Intervention Research at Denmark's Copenhagen University Hospital...

More: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070227/hl_nm/vitamins_hazards_dc;_ylt=AhvxZFxFQRvD1pyJm8ITeOwR.3QA

[Cobalt-60]

1. It's rubbish

We know better already.
It's big pharma and the AMA trying to cultivate a little more sickness, er excuse me, business.

[lligrd]

2. My Bet Would Be BS

But I'll look for more evidence before I decide either way.

[babylonsister]

3. They won't make you live longer but won't kill you:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=222&topic_id=15460

[and-justice-for-all]

4. I was thinking rubbish as I read it...

...Of course 'they' want to discourage supplement usage, they want people to not buy things that are cheap and work. Its like Pot, its actually good for lots of things from headaches to cramps and its dirt cheap. But do they legalize it so it can be readily used, as it has been for thousands of years, for gereral ailments? Fuck no.

I take 1000mg of Ester-C and an exteremly clean Fish Oil supplement everday. You know how often I have had the flu? I never get a Flu shot, NEVER. I can not remeber the last time I had the Flu, come to think of it I dont think I have had the flu since Junior High School and even then I can only recall having Chicken-Pox once. When I was in Elementary School I had Strep at least once a year. I am 32 years old now.

But as long as I have been taking supplements, which you should take a 'C' supplement, I can not recall being 'down with a sickness'.

As I do have hope for major cures from the Pharmasutical sector, I can only say that they distort the small things to keep the perscriptions rolling in. I take (2) Pharma percriptions and thats it, my doctor was interested putting me on Blood Pressure Meds and I told him 'No'. I do not suffer from any effects of it and I do not feel I need to take something just because they have lowered the national average on Blood Pressure.

[REP]

6. Depending Upon How High Your BP Is, You May Suffer Later

If your BP is only slightly elevated, you're probably right in refusing meds. Not medical advice - just an opinion.

However, if it is significantly our of range, you may want to take steps to bring it down - reducing sodium intake, losing weight, taking supplements (there was a peer-reviewed study that found taking a certain combination of vitamins and minerals did lower BP in T2 diabetics) or even pharmaceuticals. Untreated high blood pressure is one of the leading causes of kidney failure in the US, and it causes other things that suck pretty hard. I don't have high BP; in fact mine is unusually low, but I do have kidney disease, so I haul out the soapbox at any opportunity.

[depakid]

5. Stupid "journalist- even stupider byline

The study looks very interesting though- it's a meta analysis that covers hundreds of separate studies- and NO, it's not tied to PhARMA in any way.

I have my doubts about the findings, but since I haven't read the study- JAMA "embargoed it- like they usually do (don't get me started on abuses in academic publishing) I can't say at this point how much (if any) credence I'll put into its conclusions.

Here's the abstract, though with studies like this, it really doesn't tell us very much:

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/297/8/842

[baldguy]

7. If only they could patent vitamins.

[KharmaTrain]

8. Saliva When Ingested Over Long Periods Of Time Can Be Fatal

It's stories like this that make George Carlin the true genius he is.