Can Vitamins Kill You? JAMA’s Study Makes You Wonder

People are often wondering if they should take vitamins and supplements.

Well, Mike Adams, the often interesting, quite opinionated (that’s a compliment, not a criticism) of NewsTarget.com sounds off in an intriguing, provocative opinion piece on a new JAMA study (Journal of the American Medical Association), which purports, in Mike’s words, that vitamins may "kill you."

Actually, the JAMA article, entitled "Mortality in  Mortality in Randomized Trials of Antioxidant Supplements for Primary and Secondary Prevention," takes a more measured approach than Mike indicates. Nonetheless, its conclusions may be alarming to supplement takers.

The study — from European researchers, who are affiliated with such institutions as The Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group, Copenhagen University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Nis, and Divisione di Medicina in Palermo, Italy — concludes:

"Treatment with beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase mortality. The potential roles of vitamin C and selenium on mortality need further study."

Although I’m tempted to agree with Mike, right now, I just don’t feel that I know enough to come to any educated conclusions, but I certainly recommend that you read Mike’s opinion piece, "The big vitamin scare: American Medical Association claims vitamins may kill you (opinion)," and then come up with your own point of view.

While you’re at the interesting NewsTarget.com site, you may wish to read another interesting opinion piece from Mike, "How I got blindsided by yeast extract in Amy’s Kitchen organic foods,"