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Real thing always better than supplements

Common healthcare treatments recently unraveled as several universities disproved conventional wisdom surrounding cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Intrigued by research proving persons who eat more fruits and vegetables live longer and get less cancer, University of Colorado sought to replicate this using food supplements. They found persons taking vitamins — particularly B vitamins — developed more cancer than persons who did not use food supplements.

Inspired by this finding, researchers in Sweden working with Cambridge University proved iron supplements and supplements designed to detoxify the body weaken cancer-fighting enzymes, causing patients taking iron supplements to develop cancer more frequently. Last month, Oxford scientists showed omega-3/fish oil capsules are unlikely to protect against heart attacks and cannot replace well-known protection of eating fish three times weekly as previously thought.

Science and math increasingly prove when it comes to micronutrients, natural produce is good, supplements are harmful.

Prescription medicine took a hit this month when Mayo Clinic data proved beta-blockers, a common class of medication used to control blood pressure and heart rate, significantly increase death in diabetics. This presents a conundrum as patients with angina and heart attacks are normally prescribed beta-blockers to prevent future heart attacks. In non-diabetics, these medications again proved to extend life in heart disease patients. However, in diabetic patients beta-blockers resulted in higher death rates and this harmful effect was found across all beta-blocker types studied. Complicating this, physicians and hospitals are financially penalized by the federal government and regulatory bodies if heart disease patients are not prescribed beta-blockers.

In short, eat right and don’t rely on food supplements. You’ll find better health at the Farmers Market not in a vitamin bottle. Talk to your physician about medication alternatives if you are a diabetic on a beta-blocker.

Allan P. Frank, MD, MS

Alpena

Assistant Clinical Professor

MSU College of Human Medicine

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