In the March 2012 issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, an article covering the “Risks of Vitamin Supplements” discusses various vitamins and minerals and how their use seems to suggest that they could be more of a danger than an actual help.
While I do not necessarily disagree with their findings in full, there is so much information omitted from the research that the reader is not left with enough to decide on which approach may be best for him or her.
As most of you know, I’m all for getting as much of our nutritional content from our foods as possible, while perhaps using some additional whole-food supplements, and naturally-sourced supplements on occasion to enhance our health as well. These supplements that I use and promote are overwhelmingly nature-based, as compared to being constructed in a lab. I am not completely against using vitamins and minerals that may have been formulated in a laboratory environment for specific purposes, such as during illness or injury where applicable, but the fact remains that a great many people will read this article presented by the Mayo Clinic, and misunderstand its intentions, based on having their own interpretation of what’s being conveyed.
For example, the article states that when it comes to minerals such as magnesium (we’ll use this example specifically since it was referenced) that an Iowa Women’s Health Study indicated that “the risk of premature death increased 3.6 percent in those taking magnesium…”
They failed to tell the reading audience exactly what kind of magnesium was being taken. Was this a pill form of magnesium? (Of which there are many varieties) Was magnesium sterate or other additives with questionable safety added to the supplement? Was the supplement actually absorbed in their bodies? Did they run any kind of tests to determine blood plasma levels of magnesium (which by the way, would not be an adequate test to determine whether the person was magnesium deficient or not since so much of the body’s magnesium stores are intercellular). Were the participants taking enough magnesium to experience bowel tolerance? Did the researchers understand that taking magnesium pills can take years to build up in the body to adequate, healthy magnesium levels?
The list of questions goes on and on.
But a huge number of people will read the article, from an organization that has a long-standing reputation of respect and admiration, and will misunderstand exactly what the findings where actually about.