A response to the "Risk of Women Taking Vitamins" study

Those who take certain nutritional supplements have less macular degeneration, less likelihood of certain cancers, less stroke risk, less complications of diabetes, less infectious disease and on the list goes. So when a study pops up saying “Older women are more likely to die if they take vitamins”, the media’s fetish for shock appeal was obvious. Research adds to the pile of knowledge in science. In baseball, one loss does not put the leading team in last place; it just tempers the perfect record. So when no such finding is present in prior multiple vitamin and mineral studies, and there have been many, we have to take this new statistical finding with reserve.

The study, over 19 years, 3 questionnaires were given to older women taking part in the Iowa Health Study. There was less risk associated with calcium studies, and no change with vitamin A and D and minimal difference for folic acid and B6 and the most statistical significance was found with women who took iron supplements. It is well-known that post menopausal women should take no supplemental iron unless it is confirmed that they are low, which can be established with a blood test of ferritin. Excess iron is pro-inflammatory and can feed infectious disease. People should properly evaluate their diet and disease risks before adding supplements to their lives for many decades.

The likelihood that this study is worthless is tremendous given the retrospective questionnaire based data, but, if anything, this study can remind us that unguided, long-term supplementation without an understanding of our unique disease/diet/risk profile will not give us the immortal get-out-of-jail-free-card.