Vitamins May Be Killing You!
by Dr. James McHale
rose is a rose is a rose. But is a vitamin a vitamin?"
one can almost buy vitamins on the street corner. In fact,
it is hard to imagine vitamin consciousness being any higher.
Millions take one or more vitamins daily.
Is the FDA laughing at us? Let's inquire.
In June 1995, we did an article entitled THE VITAMIN CONSPIRACY.
It made many glad and some mad. Many inquired further. I have
come to believe that we live longer or die shorter depending
on whether we take natural complexes or synthetic vitamins
One caveat here is that a natural isolated vitamin may not
be much better or any better than a synthetic or manmade chemical
vitamin. So keep in mind that we are emphasizing whole natural
complexes or whole natural foods.
Both the recent Finnish study published in the New England
Journal of Medicine and the Agnes Faye Morgan experiments
at the University of California, Berkeley in the 1940's proved
that taking synthetic vitamins is worse than starvation! The
synthetic vitamins will kill you quicker. In the Finnish study,
there was a statistically significant loss of protection from
lung cancer, stroke, and all other forms of death.
So beware of so-called vitamin "enriched" bread
and other foods as they are "enriched" with synthetic
chemical vitamins. Actually, these chemicals should not be
called vitamins. They are not vitamins, and they are not food.
This is part of the deception.
I suspect that by far, most vitamins sold are synthetic,
causing sickness and death to unsuspecting people who believe
that they are health conscious and doing the right thing.
The synthetic vitamin producers and sellers all claim that
synthetic vitamins have the same molecular structure as the
natural, and are therefore the same or at least have the same
effect. They never mention that the polarity of the synthetic
is opposite to the natural and has the opposite effect. Synthetic
vitamins always refract light the opposite of the natural
vitamin complexes. This suggests that you do not get protection
from synthetic vitamins. In fact, the studies above show an
actual loss of protection.
Dr. Royal Lee, founder of the Standard Process Company, discovered
the light refraction attributes of vitamins in the 1930's.
Though synthetic vitamins have the same molecular structure,
they are a mirror image of the natural.
This suggests that they are identical in every detail. But
a mirror image is the exact opposite of the real thing, in
this case, the natural vitamins. Try to shake hands with yourself
in the mirror. Everything is opposite. Bet you thought a mirror
image is an exact duplication.
Our vitamins need to be whole food, natural biological complexes.
They should not be isolated factors, either natural or chemical.
Whole food complexes are true food supplements that support
You Are What You Absorb
Over the last twenty years, the concept of disease prevention
really grew up. In the late 1970's people who took vitamins
and ate organically grown foods were often referred to as
"health nuts". But all that is changing. In 1993
a startling fact regarding alternative medicine emerged. For
the first time ever, Americans made more visits to alternative
health practitioners than to "traditional" physicians
(medical doctors and osteopaths).
Leading the charge for alternative medicine was the idea
of consuming nutritional supplements. The American diet consists
of very little fresh fruits and vegetables. We find convenient
foods-microwaved, frozen, pasteurized, and canned items don't
contain the necessary nutrients to help us lead vibrant, healthy
lives. That is why vitamins and minerals are no longer taboo.
In fact, the best selling pill in 1997 was not aspirin, Prozac,
or the stimulant Ritalin. Centrum and Theragran M vitamin
pills were the LEADERS and have contributed significantly
to the multibillion dollar nutritional supplement industry.
Now for the bad news. The problem with these pills is that
they are poorly absorbed into the body.
Undigested vitamin/mineral pills don't help us to receive
the intended benefit-to fuel the body toward health, and may
create other snags. Each month in Tacoma, Washington 165 thousand
pounds of undigested vitamin and mineral pills are pulled
out of the sewers. The filters in Salt Lake City, Utah are
clogged with over 150 gallons of these pills each month. The
reason: metal based minerals (like oyster shells), and essentially
mini "rocks" are in the pills, and our bodies can't
digest them efficiently. According to the Physician's Desk
Reference, only about 10-20 percent of pills are absorbed.
What does that mean to you, the consumer? If you spend $50
dollars a month on vitamin/mineral pills, then $40-$45 of
it is may end up in your septic system!
So now that we know that the vitamin pills are not well absorbed
by the body, what do we do? Our bodies are able to absorb
98 percent of liquid nutritional supplements! Folks with digestive
disorders like ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel, diverticulitis,
and hernias ca n tolerate the liquids because they are easily
absorbed and don't irritate the digestive tract.
The best sources are derived from sea vegetation that is
organic-no pesticides or toxins should be used on them. Our
bodies contain water that is very similar to sea water. The
sodium, calcium, potassium, and sulfur contents of sea water
is very easily recognized and absorbed by our systems. Our
money is much better spent on those products that get into
our blood streams to help us lead healthy, productive lives.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is becoming
outmoded. "You are what you absorb" seems to be
Dr. James McHale is a chiropractic physician, writer,
and researcher. He lectures extensively in the United States
and Canada about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,
Osteoporosis, and Alternative Medicine.
- James A. McHale D.C.