No Deaths from Vitamins: Report

America's Largest Database Confirms Supplement Safety
There was not even one death caused by a vitamin supplement in 2010, according to the most recent information collected by the U.S. National Poison Data System. The new 203-page annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, published online at http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/Portals/0/2010%20NPDS%20Annual%20Report.pdf, shows zero deaths from multiple vitamins; zero deaths from any of the B vitamins; zero deaths from vitamins A, C, D, or E; and zero deaths from any other vitamin. Additionally, there were no deaths whatsoever from any amino acid or dietary mineral supplement.
Read news release at orthomolecular.org

Did you know that there are many pharmaceutical drugs that deplete the body of nutrients?

If you take or intend to take prescription drugs you may find it's a good idea to check out which nutrients you may need to supplement while taking the medication.

My first encounter with this sort of nutrient depletion was when I was taking isoniazid for TB when I was a teenager. I suffered greatly from insomnia but did not know why. It was not until many years later that I discovered that it was because of vitamin B6 depletion. B6 is also known as pyridoxine. If I had known at the time, and if I had been able to take supplements of pyridoxine at the time, I would have been saved from those dreadful sleepless years and from the anaemia that is also caused by lack of this vitamin.

Statins, so widely and notoriously over-prescribed, cause the body to be depleted of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), so if you are taking them you may like to consider taking tablets of CoQ10 so as to reduce some of the harm the statins may be causing you.

Steroid drugs such as prednisone have been shown to deplete the body of calcium, magnesium, folic acid, potassium, selenium, vitamin C, and vitamin D.

Antibiotics deplete the body of several nutrients as well as adversely affecting the balance of the gut flora. Thiazide diuretics (water tablets) such as Bendrofluazide (aka Bendroflumethiazide or lots of other names) remove some potassium and magnesium from the body. The resultant shortage of potassium and magnesium may well cause you night cramps. Often all you need to do about the shortage of potassium is to make sure you eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and your doctor will usually tell you about this and suggest eating bananas for extra potassium.

Depletion of nutrients could affect you in many ways and may well result in lower energy levels and lowered immunity to infection. So check it out. You may find it's a case for nutritional supplements to the rescue!

Chromium picolinate may improve memory in elderly people

Supplements of chromium picolinate may boost memory function in the elderly, says a new placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Writing in the findings published in Nutritional Neuroscience, scientists by University of Cincinnati College of Medicine report that daily supplements of the compound improved learning, recall, and recognition memory tasks.
Read article at nutraingredients-usa.com

Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) continues with its high dose supplement campaign

The EU Parliament Petitions Committee have voted to keep open five petitions that question the European Commission’s proposal to limit maximum levels of vitamins and minerals in the EU bloc under the Food Supplements Directive.
Read article at foodnavigator.com

No Deaths from Dietary Supplements: Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids, Herbs

No Deaths from Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids or Herbs
Poison Control Statistics Prove Supplements' Safety
There was not even one death caused by a dietary supplement in 2008, according to the most recent information collected by the U.S. National Poison Data System. The new 174-page annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, published in the journal Clinical Toxicology, shows zero deaths from multiple vitamins; zero deaths from any of the B vitamins; zero deaths from vitamins A, C, D, or E; and zero deaths from any other vitamin. Additionally, there were no deaths whatsoever from any amino acid or herbal product.
Read news release at orthomolecular.org

Ban on particular vitamin and mineral food supplements from 1 January 2010 may contravene EU law

The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) has informed the UK’s food regulator, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), that the proposed ban on particular vitamin and mineral food supplements from 1 January 2010 flies in the face of the European Court of Justice ruling on the ANH’s case in 2005.
Read press release on the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) website (UK)

Want to be able to continue to buy vitamin and mineral supplements in the strengths you prefer?

Want to be able to continue to buy vitamin and mineral supplements in the strengths you prefer? - Then you will probably find this interview with Paul Anthony Taylor interesting:

The EU and the "Codex Alimentarius" and global food regulations that may limit your future choice options

Extract from the interview:

"in addition to dealing with ordinary foods, Codex also sets global standards for: vitamin and mineral food supplements; health claims; organic foods; genetically modified (GM) foods; food labeling; advertising; food additives and residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs in foods. In all of these areas, the evidence is now inescapable that Codex is increasingly putting economic interests – and particularly those of the pharmaceutical, chemical and GM industries – before human health."

EU regulations: a major threat to our future health

The regulatory pressure pot that aims to stop 500 million Europeans accessing therapeutically useful natural health products is approaching bursting point. Within two months we should see what vitamin and mineral dosages the European Commission aims to set as maximums across the EU. January 2010 then signals the delayed ban of a host of vitamin and mineral forms that won't have been ‘proven’ safe or bioavailable.
Read article on the website of the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) (UK)

EU Food Authority has double standards

According to an article in Nutraingredients.com, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) expressed a positive opinion regarding calcium fluoride as a source of fluoride in food supplements. That same day, another fluoride compound was approved - sodium monofluorophosphate - but this one was not mentioned in the Nutraingredients report. These opinions appear to be in stark contrast with the over-cautious evaluation of vital nutrients (vitamins and minerals) in progress. A scientific dossier proving the safety of those nutrient sources is required before EFSA will consent to their use in supplements, and limiting dosages are being considered to make sure there is not a shadow of a possibility of an 'adverse effect'.
Read post by Sepp Hasslberger at healthfreedomnet.ning.com

Calcium during pregnancy reduces harmful blood lead levels

Pregnant women who take high levels of daily calcium supplements show a marked reduction in lead levels in their blood, suggesting calcium could play a critical role in reducing fetal and infant exposure. A new study at the University of Michigan shows that women who take 1,200 milligrams of calcium daily have up to a 31 percent reduction in lead levels.
Read article at physorg.com

If you take vitamin/mineral supplements and want to continue in the doses you prefer

You may like to visit this site http://www.consumersforhealthchoice.com/ and/or sign this petition http://www.consumersforhealthchoice.com/phpPETITION/

I don't usually sign petitions but I've signed this one.