Christopher Labos, a cardiologist practicing in Quebec penned an interesting piece on Medscape two weeks ago yesterday titled Supplements and CVD: Why Negative Data Don’t Dampen Sales. You’ll need a free Medscape account to read the article; if you don’t have access, I’d encourage you to register and read this one.
Any article that begins with the opening sentence “Vitamins and supplements do not prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD)” promises to cast supplements in a very negative light, and he paints with a very broad brush here appearing to lump “vitamins and supplements” into one ineffective heap.
The author does provide superficial summary data from several studies, though his interpretation of several is later challenged and corrected by multiple commenters, and he goes on to castigate the physicians and patients who persist in ignoring his cited data denigrating supplement use.
I don’t have time to delve into nitpicky particulars today, but three points come to mind about the article…
Three Quick Points About the Article
One, if you’re interested at all in the rational utilization of supplements, take 10 minutes, read the article AND the comments. You’ll note that opinions expressed by a number of health professionals in the comments vary widely (an understatement), and an impressive subset of physicians and allied health providers commenting disagree vehemently with the article’s premise.
Two, several commenters hit upon a key principal often neglected (or ignored) in the institutional practice of allopathic medicine today – the fact that supplement (or treatment) decisions need to be ultimately framed by an individual’s physiology (and metabolic state in this discussion of supplementation), and not necessarily by the sweeping generalizations of often very narrowly focused (i.e., looking a single vitamin, mineral, or cofactor) empirical studies.
Three, for those who face an uphill battle with their personal physician(s) with regard to supplement utilization, understand that you’re not alone. The reasons for the disconnect are multiple, and both the article and commentary suggest that physicians and the rest of us are heavily influenced by a number of biases we carry (including financial ones).
A Deeper Dive on Supplements Coming Shortly…
I have to admit, I’m fascinated by the supplement world, and come at it from the position of a longterm skeptic, no doubt due to my traditional medical training and practice, though personally use and recommend supplements routinely today. More to come…
