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OT: Dietary supplements shown to increase cancer risk if taken in excess

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Posted 4/22/2015 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
Well, yes, I would imagine nothing is complex when viewed only via monocular vision ;(.
Posted 4/22/2015 2:11 PM (GMT 0)

CCinPA said...
I am NOT anti-supplement (use some myself), but to be honest, I do wonder when people use a LOT of them and are still having problems. Not so sure they are helping the way it was hoped they would and by throwing even more supplements into the mix no one knows what could be happening internally or how they interact. Someone said that supplements are like the Wild West -- be careful with what you ingest!

Here's some additional info about supplements:

www.doctoroz.com/article/hidden-dangers-dietary-supplement

consumerhealthchoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Dangerous_Supplements.pdf

Let me clear some things up -

1) I am not pro or anti supplementation either. I am for smart supplementation. It's ideal to get nutrition from diet, but if the data justifies use for vitamin D, curcumin, fish oil for disease prevention and management, then I see no reason not to endorse it. On the dietary front, the same thing applies to indole-3-carbinols, legumes and resistant starches for cancer prevention because there is sufficient data to suggest it over drugs.

The major issue here is whether you are getting a dud or the real thing. More often than not, consumers are buying adhoc variations put together with the intention of profit, and they provide almost zero benefit to consumers. That is why I recommend brands that have sufficient clinical backing (green patures, nordic naturals, barleans, LEF).

2) I am not anti-medications despite what people want to believe, and I do recommend the use of mesalamines and rectals (temporarily).

My issue is with those who believe that medications are truly as effective and safe as advertised from doctors and pharmaceutical companies. The only problem is that they are generally aren't because much of the published data they base the prescriptions on are altered and ghost written solely with intention of profit in mind. Safety is not the first priority of the FDA since they are technically funded by the same companies that promote the drugs. Third party verification is heavily needed because there are numerous conflicts of interest in pharmaceutically sponsored trials.

3) The same thing I said above applies to supplements, but I don't feel there would be much conflict if people stuck to the clinically backed brands I mentioned. Much of the discord associated with supplements is related to whether people are getting cheap fillers over the real thing. Nevertheless, the statistics show almost no risk of death from taking some of these problematic fillers, because they are just that - cheap fillers.
Posted 4/22/2015 3:11 PM (GMT 0)
Guardian7, sounds like we are not that far apart, I am for getting nutrients from diet when possible, otherwise use supplements. I'm not against supplements, I recommend them when it makes sense, but always in addition to prescription meds not in place of them. Good to see your point #3.

I still see danger in supplements and I don't think they should be stated as risk free, interesting from CCinPA's links:

We have identified a dozen supplement ingredients that we think consumers should avoid because of health risks, including cardiovascular, liver, and kidney problems. We found products with those ingredients readily available in stores and online.

Your ‘all natural’ supplement might contain drugs. Because of inadequate quality control and inspection, supplements contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, or prescription drugs have been sold to unsuspecting consumers. And FDA rules covering manufacturing quality don’t apply to the companies that supply herbs, vitamins, and other raw ingredients. China, which has repeatedly been caught exporting contaminated products, is a major supplier of raw supplement ingredients. The FDA has yet to inspect a single factory there.

The lack of oversight leaves consumers like John Coolidge, 55, of Signal Mountain, Tenn., vulnerable. He started taking a supplement called Total Body Formula to improve his general health. But instead, he says, beginning in February 2008, he experienced one symptom after another: diarrhea, joint pain, hair loss, lung problems, and fingernails and toenails that fell off. “It just tore me up,” he said. Eventually, hundreds of other reports of adverse reactions to the product came to the attention of the FDA, which inspected the manufacturer’s facilities and tested the contents of the products. Most of the samples contained more than 200 times the labeled amount of selenium and up to 17 times the recommended intake of chromium, according to the FDA.

The dirty dozen
Working with experts from the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, an independent research group, we identified a group of ingredients (out of nearly 1,100 in the database) linked to serious adverse events by clinical research or case reports. The dozen are aconite, bitter orange, chaparral, colloidal silver, coltsfoot, comfrey, country mallow, germanium, greater celandine, kava, lobelia, and yohimbe. The FDA has warned about at least eight of them, some as long ago as 1993. Why are they still for sale? Two national retailers we contacted about specific supplements said they carried them because the FDA has not banned them.
Posted 4/22/2015 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
It's very closed minded to be anti all drugs. It's like refusing to drive or ride in a car because you could die in a car accident, refusing to drink tap water because tap water is polluted, wearing a breathing mask because the air is polluted, refusing to eat food out of the grocery or at restaurants because it will kill you, and on and on and on. It's like having a phobia of life and it is extremism. There's not a thing out there that doesn't have a chance to make you sick or kill you, including supplements. There is man made everything out there. Heck, even cavemen made spears, polluted the environment with fires and discarded animal remains, and pooped their germs right out there in the open.
Posted 4/22/2015 4:28 PM (GMT 0)

Guardian7 said...
I am not sure about getting a colonoscopy to confirm because of the risks associated with it. I've had my share of colonoscopies, and I don't feel like getting another one.

Don't you worry about cancerous polyps? They can only be detected and removed via scope. With constant intestinal inflammation, we are at higher risk for developing colorectal cancer. I don't feel like getting another one either and curios to know what you are thinking about this.
Posted 4/22/2015 6:40 PM (GMT 0)
I can't answer for Guardian but my own condition is somewhat similar. When you're doing fairly well then you probably don't have bad inflammation, so therefore your risks of colon cancer aren't quite the same as someone who deals with a worse case on a regular basis. I also admit to being a little scared of getting another colonoscopy (I've only had that first one 4 1/2 years ago). When I got that first one I had only been going 2-3 times per day but after the colonosopy and being put on oral Mesalamines, I began going much, much more, to the point I was going over 20 times per day. People's first thought is probably that I was intolerant to oral Mesalamines but for me they were a double edged sword. They got rid of my diarrhea, blood, and mucus but at the same time my BM's increased considerably. The only reason I am afraid of another colonoscopy is the fact that I am doing pretty darn good right now and I have the fear that the prep or the procedure itself (including biopsies) will make my condition worse and don't want that to happen after I have worked so hard to get where I am today. There have been many who posted here who got much worse after the procedure. If you are already doing badly it's hard to notice much change but when you are doing well you notice how the colonoscopy has destroyed the progress you had made. Whatever you do it is a roll of the dice.
Posted 4/23/2015 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
This news didn't surprise me at all. There is no one size fits all for nutrients, as the new field of nutrigenomics is demonstrating.

I got into a bad state from overdoing the B12. My father may have hastened his cancer in the early 90s through taking beta carotene supps while being a smoker. The rise in folate depdendent cancers since folic acid fortification in the States seems likely to be linked.
Posted 4/24/2015 2:54 PM (GMT 0)
Gary, I'm in the exact same situation. Thanks for the reply.
Posted 4/26/2015 5:32 PM (GMT 0)
Just got into this thread and started to worry -
it came across my mind that I'm consuming 2 heap spoons of L-Glutomine (morning & eve) which I must admit showed some great results after few weeks long. Blood test showed increase in WBC (from 3.2 k/ul to 4.5 k/ul - the highest I ever had). Is it worth keep taking it in lower dosage or should I need to stop immediately?

I presume there are lots of well experienced members with this stuff, appreciate your quick response.
Thank a lot.
Posted 4/26/2015 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
I think you should start a new thread with this question. You will get much better results.
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