This study said supplements increased mortality-lets take a look at the study and here is why I disagree.
In order to not be misled by a study, you need to read the entire study!
Readers have raised many questions and shared links regarding supplements. It is a confusing topic, for sure, and I appreciate all the comments!
I have gone down a rabbit hole researching supplements.
Do we need them?
Are they safe?
There is no correct answer. The right answer is the one that is geared toward you, not the masses.
I read the perspective review study by Ofoedu et al. (2021) looking at nutrients via food and supplements.
Here are my takeaways from reading this study
No single food source contains all vitamins and minerals. Different foods (variety) are needed to meet your nutrient requirements.
Nutrient deficiencies can result from a poor diet or other factors influencing absorption. Even if one eats a healthy, nutrient-dense diet, other factors, such as alcoholism or heavy drinking, genetic factors, medications, intestinal disease, and disorders such as IBD and IBS, may cause nutrient deficiencies.
If you want to absorb your nutrients, chew your food thoroughly! I will write more in another post on why this is impactful.
The type of diet you consume can impact the absorption of your supplements and nutrients from food. For example, if you eat a low-fat diet, vitamin A and carotenoids are poorly absorbed.
You absorb more nutrients from animal foods than from plants. If your diet is 100% plant-based, you may require additional supplementation.
The issue I have with the study citing previous studies that state “supplements” increase mortality-lets have a look:
Ofoedu et al. (2021) cited Chen et al. (2019) (page 31 of the pdf). Chen et al. (2019) used NHANES survey data on adult supplement use. They found via surveys that calcium supplement intake was associated with increased cancer risk.
Therefore, you cannot state that all supplements increased mortality. Calcium supplements may increase cancer risk.
In the other study, Ofoedu et al. (2021) cited (Mursu et al., 2011), in which the researchers used the Iowa Women’s Health Study to examine self-reported supplement usage.
Mursu et al. (2011) had a different conclusion about calcium supplements and found that calcium supplementation was associated with reduced mortality risk.
They did not find increased mortality with all supplements BUT WITH IRON supplementation.
Elevated Iron Dangers
I agree with this!!
Do not supplement with iron unless you run a full iron panel (iron, ferritin, % saturation, TIBC) indicating low iron levels.
More people have iron overload, not iron deficiency. Some people have iron overload due to unknown genetic hemochromatosis.
Make sure your multivitamin/mineral does not contain iron.
Iron overload is associated with increased CVD risk and can contribute to diabetes and liver disease.
If your iron is elevated, you should donate blood. If your iron is chronically elevated, get tested for hemochromatosis.
This post by Dr. Mercola cites studies in which elevated iron was found to be harmful.
If left untreated, high iron can contribute to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and many other health problems, including gouty arthritis.
In one small study, 100% of the patients achieved marked reduction in attacks or complete remission after phlebotomy was used to remove iron and maintain an iron 1 2 level at near-iron deficiency — "the lowest body iron store compatible with normal erythropoiesis and therefore absence of anemia."
Iron causes all this harm by catalyzing a reaction within the inner mitochondrial membrane. When iron reacts with hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl free radicals are formed. These are among the most damaging free radicals known, causing severe mitochondrial dysfunction, which in turn is at the heart of most chronic degenerative diseases.
Dr. Mercola states that looking at ferritin and serum GGT can also be markers for elevated iron status.
GGT is a liver enzyme involved in glutathione metabolism and the transport of amino acids and peptides.
Not only will the GGT test tell you if you have liver damage, it can also be used as a screening marker for excess free iron and is a great indicator of your sudden cardiac death risk.
In fairly recent years, scientists have discovered GGT is highly interactive with iron, and when both your serum ferritin and GGT are high, you are at significantly increased risk of chronic health problems, because then you have a combination of free iron, which is highly toxic, and iron storage to keep that toxicity going.
Allopathic serum tests that I have viewed do not have the GGT marker. If you can get this test run, according to Mercola, who looks at functional ranges, as I do, you want the GGT results below 16 U/L for men and below 9 U/L for women.
Red meat, alcohol, and certain medications can raise your GGT levels.
Mercola indicates the functional test ranges for serum ferritin are:
An ideal level for adult men and non-menstruating women is somewhere between 30 and 60 ng/mL. You do not want to be below 20 ng/mL or above 80 ng/mL
Mercola’s additional suggestions to reduce elevated iron:
To avoid maximizing iron absorption, avoid eating iron-rich foods in combination with vitamin C-rich foods or beverages, as the vitamin C will increase iron absorption.
If needed, you could also take a curcumin supplement. Curcumin acts as a potent chelator of iron and can be a useful supplement if your iron is elevated.
The limitations of these findings include
Recall bias (people have to recall what they took and may not accurately note that on the survey)
Survey participants are often compensated and may haphazardly complete the survey to receive the incentive offered, which is oftentimes money. (Surveys are not reliable).
The surveys did not ask about the supplements; what form was the calcium? Was it the cheap calcium carbonate form? What was the quality of the supplements?
People who take supplements may consume unhealthier diets and use (cheap) supplements because the diet is unhealthy. Did these people have a greater risk of mortality because of supplements or diet?
Honesty bias: People may indicate they take supplements when they do not because they think this is “healthy.” They think this is the answer the researcher wants to see.
Bottom Line
Based on this study, we cannot say that supplements increase mortality risk. Calcium supplements may increase cancer risk, or they may reduce all-cause mortality. Who the heck knows?
The only supplement this study shows to increase CVD risk is iron when you do not need it, resulting in iron overload.
Food first. Then, work with a professional to determine what, if any, supplements you need.
Show my posts some love, please!
It is just me writing, reading, researching, and seeing clients!
I do not use mainstream social media, so please share my posts so that more people can get informed on how to get and stay healthy.
This is NOT information allopathic practitioners will share with you.
For anyone interested, my morning tea blend is (all organic) yerba mate, rooibos, green or black, and nettle leaf (and nettle seed when I have it).
Dr. Thomas Levy agrees with Mercola. He says that unless you are anemic or have osteoporosis, you should NOT be taking iron or calcium supplements because they will help cancers grow. Extra copper also.
https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/interview-with-dr-thomas-levy
Thank you for your substack! Do you have an opinion about the recent NBC (and others) reports about high levels of niacin increasing the risk of heart disease?? I have read many of these articles and they say: "The recommended daily allowance of niacin for men is 16 milligrams per day and for women who are not pregnant is 14 milligrams per day." They go on to say that taking too much niacin can potentially lead to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. and then they say this : "The researchers currently don’t know where to draw the line between healthy and unhealthy amounts of niacin, although that may be determined with future research." SO they speak out of both sides of their mouths and obviously these articles are written by useless statin manufacturers! Thank you for your opinion!