Over the last 20 years the number of people taking vitamins has increased substantially with a number of reports showing that they can help to prolong life and wellbeing, but is it true?
A report from Copenhagen has today blown the situation wide open with a suggestion that certain vitamins may actually bring about premature death and interfere with the bodies own defence mechanism. While this is the first major report to suggest that some vitamins may cause more harm than good, it does open up a rather delicate debate.
The report shows that beta-carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E can actually increase mortality, although there are other vitamins which have actually been shown to extend life. While it would be foolish to change your way of life on the back of one report, there are certain aspects of the research which are a little alarming to say the least.
The Health Supplements industry have already hit back and suggested that while there are elements of the report which are alarming, vitamins are not sold as the “magic bullet” and are not the answer to all medical conditions. They offer many people an easy way to “top-up” their vitamin intake and make up for elements which may not occur naturally in their diet.
The health supplements market is a multi billion pound market which has shown massive growth over the last 20 years or so. The internet has taken the industry to another level with more accessibility and more coverage but it has also opened up a very large market for the fraudsters. We hear regular stories about items which have been bought on line but never received and we see news of vitamins tablets and the like which turn out to be worthless.
Perhaps news of this latest development might also alert people to the threat of scammers and fraudsters in an industry which often comes under the spot light for all of the wrong reasons.
