health news items
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:33:12 +0000
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-1523861010 October 2011 Last updated at 20:57 ET
Vitamins linked with higher death risk in older women
By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News
Experts have suspected for some time that supplements may only be beneficial if a person is deficient in a nutrient.
All of the women, in their 50s and 60s, were generally well nourished yet many had decided to take supplements.
Multivitamins, folic acid, vitamin B6, magnesium, zinc, copper and iron in particular appeared to increase mortality risk.
The researchers believe consumers are buying supplements with no evidence that they will provide any benefit.
"Based on existing evidence, we see little justification for the general and widespread use of dietary supplements," Dr Jaakko Mursu of the University of Eastern Finland and his research colleagues said.
In the study, iron tablets were strongly linked with a small (2.4%) increased death risk, as were many other supplements. The link with iron was dose-dependent, meaning the more of it the individual took, the higher their risk was.
Conversely, calcium supplements appeared to reduce death risk. However, the researchers say this finding needs more investigation and they do not recommend that people take calcium unless advised to by a doctor in order to treat a deficiency.
They say dietary supplementation has shifted from preventing deficiency to trying to promote wellness and prevent diseases, and caution: "We believe that for all micronutrients, risks are associated with insufficient and too-large intake."
Helen Bond of the British Dietetic Association said ... some took supplements as an insurance policy, wrongly assuming that they could do no harm. "But too much can be toxic and it is easy to inadvertently take more than the recommended daily amount."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15238613UK doctors are being told the antibiotic normally used to treat gonorrhoea is no longer effective because the sexually transmitted disease is now largely resistant to it.
[This entry was originally posted as http://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/473618.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-1523861010 October 2011 Last updated at 20:57 ET
Vitamins linked with higher death risk in older women
By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News
Experts have suspected for some time that supplements may only be beneficial if a person is deficient in a nutrient.
All of the women, in their 50s and 60s, were generally well nourished yet many had decided to take supplements.
Multivitamins, folic acid, vitamin B6, magnesium, zinc, copper and iron in particular appeared to increase mortality risk.
The researchers believe consumers are buying supplements with no evidence that they will provide any benefit.
"Based on existing evidence, we see little justification for the general and widespread use of dietary supplements," Dr Jaakko Mursu of the University of Eastern Finland and his research colleagues said.
In the study, iron tablets were strongly linked with a small (2.4%) increased death risk, as were many other supplements. The link with iron was dose-dependent, meaning the more of it the individual took, the higher their risk was.
Conversely, calcium supplements appeared to reduce death risk. However, the researchers say this finding needs more investigation and they do not recommend that people take calcium unless advised to by a doctor in order to treat a deficiency.
They say dietary supplementation has shifted from preventing deficiency to trying to promote wellness and prevent diseases, and caution: "We believe that for all micronutrients, risks are associated with insufficient and too-large intake."
Helen Bond of the British Dietetic Association said ... some took supplements as an insurance policy, wrongly assuming that they could do no harm. "But too much can be toxic and it is easy to inadvertently take more than the recommended daily amount."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15238613UK doctors are being told the antibiotic normally used to treat gonorrhoea is no longer effective because the sexually transmitted disease is now largely resistant to it.
[This entry was originally posted as http://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/473618.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]