PharmacoNutrition Reviewed

Source: JAMA (2007), 297: 842-857
Article Type: Review (Meta Analysis)
Authors: G Bjelakovic, D Nikolova, LL Gluud, R Simonetti, C Gluud

Image taken from: http://carbs.com/dimages/headlines/vitamins.jpg

The Meta-Analysis published by Bjelakovic et al. addresses an issue that is getting more and more controversial, recently, i.e. whether antioxidant supplements are actually health-beneficial, show no effect or are even detrimental. Based on the analysis of 69 randomized trials with more than 200.000 participants, the authors conclude that
a) vitamin C and selenium have no effect on mortality
b) beta-carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E (singly or combined) significantly increase mortality

What do these results tell us?
First of all, I am curious to read the comments this article will certainly provoke. The widely cited Miller et al. study on vitamin E and mortality, for example, caused a quite heated debate, especially regarding the statistics used.
Secondly, we (at least most of us) are not only consuming nutrients – but food; although I haven’t fully digested this meta-analysis, yet, the results are – if valid – not that surprising, because when antioxidants are taken in as part of real food they actually exert quite different effects I contrast to supplements. Also, the argument that the antioxidant supplements might reduce “beneficial ROS” is a bit sketchy.
I just wonder, how the food supplement industry is going to react to this study – I think it cannot get a lot more worse for them.

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