There is a new study that suggests that you could die if you take an antioxidant vitamin supplements like A, C and E. That is right!

It says that not only do the vitamins not make you healthier or live longer but that they may even shorten your life. The reports from the study have been hogging headlines around the world.

The study was authored by Dr Goran Bjelakovic, a visiting researcher at the Copenhagen Trial Unit in Denmark and a professor at the University of Nis in Serbia and Montenegro.

This so called groundbreaking "research" is really nothing new. Bjelakovic has presented this study in the past. Thus, last month's revelations are nothing more than a rehash of a study first published in February 2007 in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The study that Bjelakovic and his group conducted was simply a meta-analysis. This is merely an analysis of other studies. His study was done on previous trials involving people who had been taking high dosage antioxidants because of serious health problems.
He and his group "searched electronic databases and reference lists".

The conclusions of this study was that treatment with beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase mortality.

The basis of this conclusion was because 13.1 per cent of the already ill participants who were taking an antioxidant died, compared with 10.5 per cent who were taking a placebo (a tablet that looks like the vitamins on trial) or nothing.

The studies where Bjelakovic's data was collected from were conducted with synthetic vitamins. As Bjelakovic states in his report: "The present review does not assess the effects of antioxidants contained in fruits or vegetables."

This means that the study has no relevance to the vitamins, minerals or antioxidants that are sourced from plants. Sadly, this part of the information did not make the headlines.

Countless scientific studies have been conducted proving the effectiveness of antioxidants in preventing disease. Once again, there is no mention of this research in either Bjelakovic's report, or by the The Cochrane Collaboration.

The study looked at 67 medical trials, involving 232,550 people, most of whom were taking a high-dose antioxidant because they had health problems such as heart disease, gastrointestinal ailments or neurological complaints.

Overall, 13.1 per cent of participants who were taking an antioxidant died, compared with 10.5 per cent of deaths among those who were either taking a placebo or no nutritional.

As a result, researchers say, vitamins must be more carefully controlled, and their use restricted.

The study is from the prestigious Cochrane Collaboration, which styles itself as the independent and scientific evaluator of medicine and therapies.

But there is a story behind the headlines. Dr Robert Verkerk, scientific director of the Alliance for Natural Health, which is fighting to keep high-dose vitamins on the health shop shelves, has found a range of faults with the Cochrane review.

But as mentioned earlier the study isn't new. The only difference is that the "new" Cochrane review includes one less study. So the anti-nutritional lobby has had strong press coverage twice from the same data.

Despite its claims to be an independent review, the Cochrane study excluded 405 studies into vitamins because there were no deaths, and another 69 because they weren't "randomised" trials.

As it is, the review looked only at studies that involved:

- sick people

- those taking very high-dose of synthetic vitamins

- participants who were terminally ill

- participants who took synthetic supplements

Clearly, this does not replicate average use. Surely, this does not give the researchers the authority to claim that supplements shouldn't be taken by healthy people. The studies look only at synthetic vitamins.

The review flies in the face of many other studies that have established that high-dose vitamins are effective in reducing the risk of lethal diseases, such as cancer and heart disease.

In fact, some supplements like fish oil have been thoroughly researched and are even endorsed by the American Heart Association. Similarly, calcium supplements are even endorsed by doctor groups for prevention of osteoporosis.

I think the most important bit of information that should calm those taking supplements is this: if you are taking whole foods like fish oil, borage oil, primrose oil, probiotics, fruit and vegetable extracts or spirulina, you really have nothing to worry and a lot to benefit from.

Datuk Dr Rajen M. is a pharmacist with a doctorate in holistic medicine.