No Deaths from Vitamins – None at All in 27 Years

vitamins

Reprint from Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, June 14, 2011

Commentary by Andrew W. Saul and Jagan N. Vaman, M.D.

(OMNS, June 14, 2011) Over a twenty-seven year period, vitamin supplements have been alleged to have caused the deaths of a total of eleven people in the United States. A new analysis of US poison control center annual report data indicates that there have, in fact, been no deaths whatsoever from vitamins . . . none at all, in the 27 years that such reports have been available.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) attributes annual deaths to vitamins as:

2009: zero
2008: zero
2007: zero
2006: one
2005: zero
2004: two
2003: two
2002: one
2001: zero
2000: zero
1999: zero
1998: zero
1997: zero
1996: zero
1995: zero
1994: zero
1993: one
1992: zero
1991: two
1990: one
1989: zero
1988: zero
1987: one
1986: zero
1985: zero
1984: zero
1983: zero

Even if these figures are taken as correct, and even if they include intentional and accidental misuse, the number of alleged vitamin fatalities is strikingly low, averaging less than one death per year for over two and a half decades. In 19 of those 27 years, AAPCC reports that there was not one single death due to vitamins. [1]

Still, the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service Editorial Board was curious: Did eleven people really die from vitamins? And if so, how?

Vitamins Not THE Cause of Death

In determining cause of death, AAPCC uses a four-point scale called Relative Contribution to Fatality (RCF). A rating of 1 means “Undoubtedly Responsible”; 2 means “Probably Responsible”; 3 means “Contributory”; and 4 means “Probably Not Responsible.” In examining poison control data for the year 2006, listing one vitamin death, it was seen that the vitamin’s Relative Contribution to Fatality (RCF) was a 4. Since a score of “4” means “Probably Not Responsible,” it quite negates the claim that a person died from a vitamin in 2006.

Vitamins Not A Cause of Death

In the other seven years reporting one or more of the remaining ten alleged vitamin fatalities, studying the AAPCC reports reveals an absence of any RCF rating for vitamins in any of those years. If there is no Relative Contribution to Fatality at all, then the substance did not contribute to death at all.

Furthermore, in each of those remaining seven years, there is no substantiation provided to demonstrate that any vitamin was a cause of death.

If there is insufficient information about the cause of death to make a clear-cut declaration of cause, then subsequent assertions that vitamins cause deaths are not evidence-based. Although vitamin supplements have often been blamed for causing fatalities, there is no evidence to back up this allegation.

References:

1. Download any Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers from 1983-2009 free of charge at http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/NPDSPoisonData/NPDSAnnualReports.aspx The “Vitamin” category is usually near the very end of the report.

Most recent year: Bronstein AC, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR Jr, Green JL, Rumack BH, Giffin SL. 2009 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System (NPDS): 27th Annual Report. Clinical Toxicology (2010). 48, 979-1178. The full text article is available for free download at http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/Portals/0/2009%20AR.pdf

The vitamin data mentioned above will be found in Table 22B.

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

Editorial Review Board:

Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)
Ralph K. Campbell, M.D. (USA)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (Canada)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)
Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA)
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)
Steve Hickey, Ph.D. (United Kingdom)
James A. Jackson, Ph.D. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada)
W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)
Gert E. Shuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Editor and contact person. Email: omns@orthomolecular.org

To Subscribe at no charge: http://www.orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html

Is FTC Censorship Trying to Divert the Nutritional Supplements Industry to Big Pharma?

A friend of mine was recently prescribed a fish oil product by his doctor for high triglycerides. He didn’t have a drug plan that covered the product; it cost a fortune –paid for it out of pocket, it was about $200 for a month’s supply. He was told by his doctor that the prescription-only product was more pure than the fish oil nutritional supplements you can buy off the shelf in health food stores. Continue reading “Is FTC Censorship Trying to Divert the Nutritional Supplements Industry to Big Pharma?”

Doctors Agree that Omega 3s Are Good for Cardiovascular Health – But is Fish Really Your Best Source of Omega 3s?

The American Heart Association recommends Omega 3 fatty acids to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease. According to the association, fish is the best source of Omega 3s. However, they also recognize that fish from many sources is contaminated with mercury. Continue reading “Doctors Agree that Omega 3s Are Good for Cardiovascular Health – But is Fish Really Your Best Source of Omega 3s?”

FDA Sends US Marshals to Seize Elderberry Juice Concentrate, Deems it ‘Unapproved Drug’

By Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Reprint from NaturalNews
Wyldewood Cellars, a Kansas-based producer and distributor of elderberry juice, is the latest raid target of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which recently sent US marshals to the company’s winery in Mulvane to confiscate the “unapproved drug.” Continue reading “FDA Sends US Marshals to Seize Elderberry Juice Concentrate, Deems it ‘Unapproved Drug’”

What Criminals and Fish Have to Do With Your Health

By Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D.

Excerpt from DrHyman.com

Well, according to one study, maybe they should be eating more of it.

Researchers gave one group of prisoners recommended daily amounts of vitamins, minerals, and healthy omega-3 fatty acids (as fish oil supplements). Another group of prisoners simply continued to follow their regular prison diet.

The result: There was a 35 percent reduction in violent offenses in the group taking these supplements (British Journal of Psychiatry, July 2002)!

That’s impressive evidence — but what’s the link?

Read Full Article

http://drhyman.com/what-criminals-and-fish-have-to-do-with-your-health-3531/



Tiny Tangerines Fight Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Disease

By Margie King

Excerpt from Nutrition Examiner

You might think that tangerines are just a great treat but new research shows that they also have potent health effects.  Researchers from The University of Western Ontario have discovered that a substance in tangerines not only helps to prevent obesity, but also protects against type 2 diabetes, and even atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of most heart attacks and strokes. Continue reading “Tiny Tangerines Fight Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Disease”

Grapefruit molecule may lower bad cholesterol, treat diabetes

By Jonathan Benson, staff writer

Reprint from NaturalNews

Israeli scientists may have discovered an effective new way to treat high cholesterol and diabetes naturally. Dr. Yaakov Nahmias from the Benin School of Engineering and Computer Science at Hebrew University and his colleagues have discovered that naringenin, a molecule in grapefruits that gives the fruit its bitter taste, can help to treat arteriosclerosis, hyper-metabolism, and even diabetes. Continue reading “Grapefruit molecule may lower bad cholesterol, treat diabetes”