Antioxidants May Increase Chance of Death?

I know this story made the cover of yahoo, but I haven't, as of yet, seen any threads or discussion on it. Which left me puzzled as I was certain the members of ATS would find this information interesting, but maybe not surprising.

According to the article, (and to sum it up), vitamins are doing pretty much no good. And in fact, antioxidants may INCREASE your chance of death. I didn't see that coming. But then again, this is the country who believes the water is safe.

The news on antioxidants, the darlings of the vitamin menagerie, is even more troubling. These compounds, which include vitamins A, C, and E, selenium, beta carotene, and folate, fight free radicals, unstable compounds thought to damage cells and contribute to aging. But not only do antioxidant supplements fail to protect against heart disease, stroke, and cancer; they actually increase the risk of death, according to a 2007 analysis of research on more than 232,000 people, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, as well as other studies.

Here is the article link:
Antioxidants May Increase Chance of Death

Do you ever feel like sometimes we're running in an endless cycle? Guess this is what we get for living in a convenient society.

(also, if this is in the wrong thread, I do apologize. I tried to find the appropriate place and this seemed to be the most fitting, at least until I saw the medical/ conspiracy forum.)

[edit on 7-1-2010 by EagleTalonZ]

reply to post by EagleTalonZ


you never know, thats why i find it hard to trust nutritionists...they seem to do a 180 every 10 or 15 years as to what is healthy for you. I'm pretty sure that how your body reacts to food is genetic so it doesn't matter a whole lot what you eat. Genes win again.

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


I was actually thinking the same thing. Maybe we'll all get scared, stop taking them, and then in a few years find out that they were wrong yet again.

Seems like no place and nothing is safe anymore. You stay inside and get all sorts of "pullution", be it food, electronic, etc. Go outside and it's certainly no better. Was kinda hoping vitamins would be left out of the bad stuff though.

What if it were a disinformation campaign, to increase deaths by stopping vitamin and antioxidant consumption that promote long life. Wouldn't that fit into a conspiracy theory to reduce global population? I wonder how Centrum and the other big vitamin companies are reacting to this news. Is this news real? Is it credible? How much is too much?

reply to post by Jim Scott


You bring up a very valid point.

Which also begs the question, which news is legit in today's world? I certainly have no way of testing the vitamins to prove the validity of the claim. Aside from everyone around me is sick, but I'm not and I'm the only one I know taking vitamins.

dont even pay attention to it. if yer built to last yer built to last, what you eat has little to do with it unless you take it to extremes.

Take me for example...I've never been overweight and almost never get sick, I drink like a fish, and eat nothing but crap. Had a Red mill burger w/ onion rings last night, 4 eggo waffles for breakfast today. I don't believe it effects me, and it never has. It's either mind over matter, or nutrition is a sham industry, and it's genetics that count for 95% of your health, you pick.

reply to post by EagleTalonZ


I never take vitamins either...
I used to, but whats the point, I feel no different from day to day whether I take them or not, which proves they are all nothing more than placebo pills.

From the OP's Source:

when a study of more than 160,000 post-menopausal women, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that the all-in-one pills did not prevent cancer, heart attacks, or strokes and did not reduce overall mortality.

Well, thankfully I am not a post-menopausal woman...So I will keep on truckin' with my antioxidants...but I will pass along the info. to my granny.



[edit on 7-1-2010 by Aggie Man]

Next thing you know fruit and veggies will be bad for you.

And your going to have to have a special license just so you can have them.

GAH!!! This world is falling apart...

I don't want to be a dumb@$$ but isn't there a 100% chance that we will die to start off with... Why are they talking about "chance of death?

Just wondering

Magnum

As a resident health freak, with plenty of familia in the health industry, I can attest to what is said here and give you my experiences. I don't touch alcohol or cigarettes, and don't do drugs, and hold a black belt and am going for one in jiu jitsu (impossible).

At 22 years old, the single types of diet I've seen opposed to these are the eastern ones. Macrobiotic, Vegetarian, raw food type diets advocate these types of approaches. And for good reason. In my experience, the more veggies you eat, the better you feel. Have fruits for dessert, drink plenty of water (lets not debate the water people), drink decaf green tea and you'll feel pretty good.

Because I work out so much, I eat a good deal of meat, and take quite a few supplements. I try and keep it as lean as possible, but prefer beef mixed in with the chicken and turkey (mixes it up), with bread as a delivery system. I try and eat 5 types of veggies a day, and the diet works out great for me. I'm finding it more and more possible to go without supplements the more organic I eat.
They have on average 25% more vitamins then reg veggies.

At this stage, I may not know enough about vitamins to say they are bad, but i've liked their effects on me. Just keep it natural, and if you dont like the looks of the supplement, dont take it, My girlfriend won't take half the stuff I suggest for her (because it works for me, not her).

The genetics commenter resonates with me.


-Von

Isn't this just in perfect timing with the Codex Alimentarius????

Disinfo is for those who profit!
ESPECIALLY since Big Pharma doesn't make $$$ from supplements!
Only petro-chemicals?



[edit on 7-1-2010 by Clearskies]

reply to post by Quickfix



lol they already have their hands in your garden. Don't worry about that.

Congress Bill Regarding "Backyard Gardens"

And here:
Additional Bill Proposed


So yeah... they pretty much do control and dictate our entire lives for us.

reply to post by EagleTalonZ


Oh i know, whats worse is that 95% of all seeds have been genetically manipulated O.O

So you have to watch out where you get your seeds..

reply to post by Quickfix


Seriously? ha ha Ever get the feeling it's starve or conform these days? Forced vaccines, manipulated seeds, dangerous vitamins, etc. You pick it, it's been in some way modified or controlled by the government. Sheesh.

Try and grab most of your nutrition through healthy eating habits. You should not need supplementation of any kind.

However, I will say with the many health problems I have had, my doctor prescribed me pharmacuetical grade supplements and they made a great difference.

This type of fear mongering is obviously an attempt to take natural cheap remedies and place them in the hands of the pharmacuetical hands of greed.

Hands down, my blood pressure issues are nearly gone due to supplementation. They can kiss my button.

reply to post by EagleTalonZ


Yeah i saw the seed manipulation somewhere on a thread here on ATS.

Best thing to do is eat whatever you want, be careful of sweets though lol, and not worry it's best just to relax.

This is hardcore bs. The AMA & NIH are practically owned by BigPharma. Many of the studies done are with the intention of proving vitamins are bunk. The protocol used is often ineffective for various reasons. Either they don't use proper doses, correct type of isolate, or they use vitamins which are known to compete for absorption. If they show improvement, the publishing is denied. Researchers are bought off all the time.

Many studies show the positive benefits of antioxidants and various nutrient supplements. Definitely disinfo. Don't buy into the hype.

I've taken nutrient supplements for the past couple of years. I also drink herbal teas and take adaptogens which contain a lot of antioxidants. My health has improved drastically since then. I was basically on my death bed in 2007. Now I have tremendous energy, drive, and focus.

This is bunk.



[edit on 7-1-2010 by unityemissions]

There is a huge variety of vitamins and supplements out there so take blanket statements like this with a grain of salt.

I always try to approach vitamins and supplements in a semi scientific manor. Take em regularly for at least a week and try to pay close attention to changes in my body.

For me, regular vitamins like you see heavily advertised dont seem to make any difference in anything but my pee color

Not surprising as they are very synthetic and concentrated and I imagine my body isnt sure what to do with it. I eventually found some whole food vitamins which are made of actual foods that contain the desired compounds and noticed a decent improvement in my energy level and ability to deal with stress.

only drawback is you need to take a few more of them to get anywhere near the levels you see on the commercial vitamins. I kept backing off on them and feel great only taking one per day.

Some great online retailers that sell em cheap (I pay less than 10 bucks a bottle.)

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


I'd tend to think it's only partially genetic, and probably has a great deal to do with the bacteria you inherited from your mother. Were you breastfeed as a child? Our guts are mostly sterile at birth. We usually get the bacteria in our GI tract from mothers milk. If you have the right ratio's of bacteria from the get go, you're likely to be well off. 95% of serotonin is in the gut. Over half the Immune system is there as well. Bacteria produce numerous b-vitamins naturally. While most people have a very unhealthy gut these days, you may be the exception.

[edit on 7-1-2010 by unityemissions]