Take Vitamins…or Not?

The Wall Street Journal just published a story claiming, “The case for dietary supplements is collapsing.” Referencing two recent trials concluding certain vitamins had no health benefit and may actually do harm, the article goes on to suggest not only is taking vitamins a waste of time, but human clinical on such supplements should no longer be conducted.

That’s it everybody, two recent trials reported negative results and the media declared the supplement industry worthless, so pack it all up and go home. Start up pharmaceutical company instead, because drugs always work well and never do any harm (wink). Or start a company where you make over-processed foods, because those are so rich in healthy ingredients and do no harm. Forget trying to fill gaps in consumer’s self-admitted nutrient-poor diets; let go the notion of providing people with a means to boost body systems and strengthen defenses against ill health. Oh wait… a few of you might need to stick around to help with acute deficiencies. Come to think of it, big pharma and/or contract manufacturers can handle that segment, so go ahead and get lost.

Seriously?! How the [vitamin] sky is falling over at WSJ is a mystery. When it comes to food and nutrients, most people with a modicum of common sense have realized there is no need to overreact to every up or down study. East this…wait don’t eat it…OK, eat it again. Not to mention it has been well-documented and argued that food and nutrition are inherently difficult to research, especially in human clinical RCTs (randomized, controlled trials).  Thus, every positive and negative study has to be taken with a grain of salt. It is best to take each study on its own merits (or flaws) and allow each to be only one pixel in the huge overall picture of food and nutrition research.

John Gay, executive director and CEO of NPA (Natural Products Association) said it is disappointing WSJ would give such sensationalist and inaccurate information space in its publication. “Trying to scare Americans away from taking dietary supplements to improve their health is just plain irresponsible,” he said. “Consumers deserve to hear more about the many benefits of vitamins and other dietary supplements, and I call on the Wall Street Journal to bring fairness to its reporting.”

Rather than undertake the lengthy dissection of the two studies featured in the article, Gay pointed to one key issue:  the WSJ acknowledged, “Observational trials can only show an association, not a cause and effect.” Gay said NPA agrees and finds it troubling a WSJ story would then use such a study to declare “the case for dietary supplements is collapsing.” This is far from true, he argued, referencing tons of studies showing real and widely accepted benefits from vitamins. He noted even the authors of the vitamin E study mentioned in the article noted the benefit of vitamin E with Alzheimer’s disease and age-related macular degeneration.  Further, the article calls calcium “important to bone health” and recognizes folic acid “reduces the likelihood of a common birth defect if taken by pregnant women.”

“Far from collapsing, the case for vitamins is supported by experts who know best the value of good nutrition,” Gay countered. “That is why NPA has long advocated that consumers use dietary supplements as part of a healthy lifestyle. Half of all Americans take dietary supplements because they know they work.”

Jeff Wright, NPA president and owner of Wright’s Nutrients in New Port Richey, Fla.,  added, “Research is the cornerstone of our industry, and it seems that every week there is a new report about the importance of vitamins to the health of millions of Americans. Stories like the one in the Wall Street Journal might scare some Americans away from taking dietary supplements to improve their health, and that is just plain irresponsible.”