The mainstream press recently had a field day reporting how the use of vitamins and minerals can seriously damage your health - 'minerals and vitamins can cause cancer and liver damage' (The Times), that people are 'poisoning themselves' (Sunday Times), and that their health could be
'irreversibly damaged' (Daily Telegraph).

The source of this garbage was the UK Food Standards Agency, the same FSA that not so long ago reported that organic food had no nutritional benefits and was bad for your pocket and bad for your health (subsequently rubbished
by the Soil Association and The Ecologist).

Surprise, surprise, this latest load of crap from the FSA was timed to coincide with the EU desire to wipe of our shelves most of the vitamins and mineral supplements we are accustomed to buying in health food shops.

So what was the truth?

The FSA report was based on a distortion of a detailed, 350-page study from the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals (EGVM).

This is what the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals (EGVM) had to say:

Chromium

In the first place, the claim that 'vitamins and minerals can cause cancer' is a statement restricted to the over-use of chromium, in the form of chromium picolinate, which is available in stores at levels up to 0.6mg. The FSA states that it 'may have the potential to cause cancer'. The EGVM is aware of two cases where the patient died from severe kidney and liver damage after ingesting 7.5 mg
regularly, although no cases of cancer came to light. No reactions were reported in people who took up to 1 mg a day for 64 weeks, according to one study.

Vitamin C

The FSA reports that doses above 1000 mg a day can cause abdominal pain and diarrhoea. The EGVM says this is a common side effect, but one that disappears immediately once the dosage is stopped or lowered. However, it points to two major trials where people who took 1000 mg a day for five years reported no adverse reactions whatsoever.

Calcium

The FSA states that doses above 1500 mg a day can cause abdominal pain. The EGVM says this is most likely to occur if it is taken with antacid tablets, calcium supplements and milk. However, no adverse reactions were reported
in trials with people supplementing at doses up to 2000 mg a day.

Iron

Abdominal problems occur with iron supplements at a potency above 17 mg a day, says the FSA. Agreed, says the EGVM, but these reactions are more common at daily doses of 60 mg. Studies push the limits higher, and suggest that gastro-intestinal problems occur at doses of up to 200 mg a day.

Beta-carotene

The FSA states that beta-carotene can cause 'irreversible harmful effects'. The EGVM said that studies have shown no toxicity in humans, even among pregnant women. However, trials involving smokers and workers exposed to asbestos found that they were more likely to develop lung cancer if they were also taking beta-carotene. So nothing to do with cigarettes and asbestos, then.

Zinc

The FSA puts the same claim of irreversible harmful effects at the door of zinc. Again, a careful study of the EGVM report fails to find supporting evidence. It states that zinc can cause reversible abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and very high doses might cause blood disorders in diabetics, a very small study suggested.

Manganese

Again, consumers who supplement with manganese can also suffer irreversible harmful effects, says the FSA. Miners who have inhaled manganese while working in manganese mines and smelters have contracted Parkinson's disease, but these are at levels impossible to ingest, says the EGVM. Trials with supplementation at doses up to 15 mg a day failed to find any adverse effects among the volunteers.

Vitamin B6

High doses can lead to a loss of feeling in the arms and legs, says the FSA. Agreed, says the EGVM, but this occurs when levels of 2000 mg are taken every day for very long periods. However, this has never been supported by any trials.

www.healthfreedommovement.com
www.healthchoice.org.uk