In recent years, the interest in supplements seems to be growing year by year.
However, there are two major problems with current supplements and health foods.
- Regulations are much more lax than for pharmaceuticals. This means that ineffective products are easily available at high prices.
- There is less research data than for pharmaceuticals. In other words, no one can say for sure about the long-term dangers.
As a result, many people are forced to pay unnecessarily high prices for health foods that not only have no effect, but may even shorten their lifespan in the long run.
The only way to prevent this from happening is to somehow sort out what we know and what we don't know, based on scientific evidence.
So, based on reliable data, we will look at supplements that have the potential to harm the body.
Previously, we have presented research results on the following supplements, and now we will introduce vitamin E.
There is no benefit to taking B vitamins.
Vitamin B complex is a product that combines vitamin B6, niacin, and folic acid into one.
Vitamin B is an essential nutrient for the human body to work properly, and is said to be “good for beauty” or “essential for people with irregular lifestyles.
However, I don't see any reason to buy B vitamins at the moment.
At any rate, to date, no specific benefits of B vitamins have been reported, and instead, a variety of side effects have been identified.
For starters, let's look at it from the perspective of, “Are there benefits to B vitamins?” For starters, let's look at it from the perspective of “Are there benefits to B vitamins?
On this issue, the American Heart Association, after reviewing a large number of previous papers, came to the following conclusions about the effects of B vitamins.
Alice H. Lichtenstein (2006)Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations Revision 2006 A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee
- There is no evidence that B vitamins reduce heart disease.
- Conversely, niacin, folic acid, and vitamin B6 have the side effect of increasing homocysteine in the body.
Homocysteine is a kind of “residue” that is produced after proteins are metabolized in the body.
It is a very easily oxidized substance, and it has been shown that the more homocysteine in the body, the more susceptible we are to heart disease.
In other words, taking B vitamins may increase the damage to your heart.
Lung cancer risk up to 4 times higher with B vitamin supplements
Even more frightening, recent data also points to a cataract risk from B vitamins.
In a 2017 study of about 77,000 Americans, all were followed for 10 years to check the health benefits of B vitamins.
Theodore M. Brasky, Emily White, Chi-Ling Chen. (2017)Long-Term, Supplemental, One-Carbon Metabolism-Related Vitamin B Use in Relation to Lung Cancer Risk in the Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) Cohort.
Here are the results in bullet points.
- Vitamin B6 and B12 increase the risk of lung cancer by 30~40%.
- Especially for men who smoke, B vitamins increase the risk of lung cancer by three to four times.
At the moment, B vitamin supplements have no confirmed benefits and even carry the risk of lung cancer.
According to the data, the line for vitamin B problems is more than 20 mg per day of vitamin B6 and more than 50 mg per day of vitamin B12.
This is an amount that can easily be exceeded even with the use of common supplements.
To begin with, very few people in many modern countries are deficient in B vitamins.
For most people, there is no point in taking B vitamins.
