THE WHORES OF JAMA

Last week (2/28), JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, published a hit piece on antioxidant vitamins.  JAMA's Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E concluded that taking supplements of them increases one's chances of death by 5%.

The lamestream media gleefully ran stories on the study, with headlines like "Vitamins Can Kill You."

It's the whores of JAMA and their media shills who can kill you, not vitamins.

Note the "Meta" in the study's title.  That means it's an analysis of other studies, not research itself.  What these folks did is, out of the close to a thousand clinical antioxidant studies, they cherry picked 68 that showed what JAMA wanted.  

And they had to lie about many of those in order to force the data to fit their pre-ordained conclusion.

For example, they claim 30 deaths as a result of this study:  Brown BG, Zhao XQ, Chait A, et al. Simvastatin and niacin, antioxidant vitamins, or the combination for the prevention of coronary disease. N Engl J Med. 2001;345: 1583-1592.

Yet this study actually shows only one death in the placebo group, one death in the drug (Simvastatin) plus antioxidant group, and no deaths in the group given only antioxidants.

Note that this particular study was for people taking statins.  While statins can effectively reduce cholesterol levels, one grave side effect is they also reduce levels of Coenzyme Q (CoQ10) which protects the energy factories in our cells (called mitochondria) from free radical damage.

Although the necessity of CoQ10 supplementation with statin use is known, the JAMA folks picked studies that didn't do so.

Virtually all 68 of JAMA's cherry-picked studies are like this – the people in the studies are ill and using a variety of drugs.  Further, they are single-use studies of only one, possibly two, antioxidants.  Any bona-fide researcher knows you need a chain of antioxidants to progressively reduce free radical energy levels in a series of downward steps.

Now – why would JAMA do this?  Because JAMA gets its revenues not from subscriptions but from ads placed by Big Pharma – the pharmaceutical companies whose sales are gravely threatened by dietary supplements.

Big Pharma bought this phony anti-antioxidant "review," bought its placement in JAMA, and bought a major publicity campaign to make sure it was headline news.

The big pharmaceutical companies' ultimate goal is to have dietary supplements classified as drugs by the FDA and destroy the industry – because that industry is their primary competition.

Antioxidant vitamins save lives, they don't cost them.  This JAMA study is going to cost a good many lives by scaring people away from taking supplements.  The medical doctors who published it are far worse than whores, who only provide sex for money.  They are providing death for money, which is infinitely more evil.

Appendix:  Here is a sample of clinical studies not included in the JAMA cherry-picked negative-studies-only review.  There are hundreds more.  This sample was provided by my friends at the Life Extension Foundation.

1.  A study involving over 29,092 male smokers aged 50-69 years followed prospectively for 19 years showed that men with the highest serum alpha-tocopherol levels had a 28% lower risk of total and cause-specific mortality than did those with the lowest levels, and a 21%, 29%, and 30% lower risk of deaths due to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other causes.  [Wright ME, Lawson KA, Weinstein SJ, Pietinen P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D. Higher baseline serum concentrations of vitamin E are associated with lower total and cause-specific mortality in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Nov;84(5):1200-7.]

2.  A study in 3,254 people (1,260 males and 1,994 females) aged from 39 to 85 years followed from 1989 to 1995 showed that higher serum levels of carotenoids with pro-vitamin A activity significantly reduces the risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.  [Ito Y, Suzuki K, Ishii J, Hishida H, et al.  A population-based follow-up study on mortality from cancer or cardiovascular disease and serum carotenoids, retinol and tocopherols in Japanese inhabitants. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2006 Oct-Dec;7(4):533-46.]

3.  A study in aging women that showed those with the lowest levels of alpha- and beta-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, and total carotenoids were significantly more likely to have increasing IL-6 levels over a period of 2 years, and those aging women with the lowest selenium levels had a significantly higher 54% risk of death over a 5-year period.  [Walston J, Xue Q, Semba RD, Ferrucci L, Cappola AR, Ricks M, Guralnik J, Fried LP. Serum antioxidants, inflammation, and total mortality in older women. Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Jan 1;163(1):18-26.]

4.  A study in patients with aggressive, small cell lung cancer showed a clinically significant 35% decreased risk of death associated with antioxidant supplement use after adjustment for tumor stage and other risk factors.  [Jatoi A, Williams BA, Marks R, Nichols FC, Aubry MC, Wampfler J, Yang P. Exploring vitamin and mineral supplementation and purported clinical effects in patients with small cell lung cancer: results from the Mayo Clinic lung cancer cohort. Nutr Cancer. 2005;51(1):7-12. ]

5.  A study in 1,168 elderly men and women followed for 10 years showed that plasma carotene concentrations were associated with a 21% lower mortality risk for every 0.39 micromol/L increase in plasma carotene, a 41% lower mortality risk for cancer, and a 17% lower risk of mortality due to cardiovascular disease. [Buijsse B, Feskens EJ, Schlettwein-Gsell D, Ferry M, Kok FJ, Kromhout D, de Groot LC. Plasma carotene and alpha-tocopherol in relation to 10-y all-cause and cause-specific mortality in European elderly: the Survey in Europe on Nutrition and the Elderly, a Concerted Action (SENECA). Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Oct;82(4):879-86.]

6.  A study that evaluated the effect of Vitamin E, beta carotene, and vitamin C on prostate cancer risk in over 29,000 men during 8 years of follow-up showed that supplemental beta-carotene intake at a dose level of at least 2000 micrograms per day was associated with a highly significant 52% decreased prostate cancer risk in men with low dietary beta-carotene intake as well as a dramatic, 71% decreased risk of advanced prostate cancer with increasing dose and duration of supplemental vitamin E.  [Kirsh VA, Hayes RB, Mayne ST, Chatterjee N, Subar AF, Dixon LB, Albanes D, Andriole GL, Urban DA, Peters U; PLCO Trial. Supplemental and dietary vitamin E, beta-carotene, and vitamin C intakes and prostate cancer risk. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006 Feb 15;98(4):245-54.]

7.  A study in 1,214 persons age 75-84 studied for over 4 years showed that those people with the lowest vitamin C plasma levels (< 17 micromol/L) had the highest mortality, whereas those aging people with the highest vitamin C plasma levels (> 66 micromol/L) had a mortality risk nearly 50% less.  [Shetty PS, Breeze E, Fletcher AE. Antioxidant vitamins and mortality in older persons: findings from the nutrition add-on study to the Medical Research Council Trial of Assessment and Management of Older People in the Community. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Nov;78(5):999-1010.]

8.  A study that examined vitamin E and vitamin C supplement use in relation to mortality risk in 11,178 persons aged 67-105 years (Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly) in 1984-1993 showed that vitamin E reduced the risk of all-cause mortality by 34%, reduced the risk of coronary disease mortality by 47%, and the simultaneous use of vitamins E and C was associated with a 42% lower risk of total mortality and 53% lower risk of coronary mortality.  [Losonczy KG, Harris TB, Havlik RJ. Vitamin E and vitamin C supplement use and risk of all-cause and coronary heart disease mortality in older persons: the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly. Am J Clin Nutr. 1996 Aug;64(2):190-6.]

9.  A study (Chicago Western Electric Study) that followed over 1,800 middle-aged men over a 30-year period showed that during 46,102 person-years of follow-up the risk of fatal stroke was 29% lower in the group taking the highest amount of vitamin C and beta-carotene.  [Daviglus ML, Orencia AJ, Dyer AR, Liu K, Morris DK, Persky V, Chavez N, Goldberg J, Drum M, Shekelle RB, Stamler J. Dietary vitamin C, beta-carotene and 30-year risk of stroke: results from the Western Electric Study. Neuroepidemiology. 1997;16(2):69-77.

10. Two studies with different designs conducted in Linxian, an area of north central China with some of the world's highest rates of esophageal and stomach cancer and a population with a chronically low intake of several nutrients, showed significant reductions in mortality associated with antioxidant intake:

One study showed that in 3,318 persons with esophageal dysplasia, a precursor to esophageal cancer, significantly lower total and cancer mortality risk was observed in those Chinese receiving beta-carotene, vitamin E, and selenium, and a whopping 55% decrease in mortality due to cerebrovascular disease. [Blot WJ, Li JY, Taylor PR, Guo W, Dawsey SM, Li B. The Linxian trials: mortality rates by vitamin-mineral intervention group.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1995 Dec;62(6 Suppl):1424S-1426S.]

A second study in 29,584 adult Chinese followed from March 1986-May 1991 showed a significantly lower total mortality among those receiving supplementation with beta carotene, vitamin E, and selenium, with a significant 23% reduction in stomach cancer in this high-risk population. [Blot WJ, Li JY, Taylor PR, Guo W, Dawsey S, Wang GQ, Yang CS, Zheng SF, Gail M, Li GY, et al. Nutrition intervention trials in Linxian, China: supplementation with specific vitamin/mineral combinations, cancer incidence, and disease-specific mortality in the general population. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1993 Sep 15;85(18):1483-92.]

11.  A study in 1,078 pregnant women infected with HIV given daily multivitamin supplements including vitamins A, C, and E showed reductions in risk of death, reduction in risk of HIV progression, and reduction in viral load.  [Fawzi WW, Msamanga GI, Spiegelman D, Wei R, Kapiga S, Villamor E, Mwakagile D, Mugusi F, Hertzmark E, Essex M, Hunter DJ. A randomized trial of multivitamin supplements and HIV disease progression and mortality. N Engl J Med. 2004 Jul 1;351(1):23-32.]

12.  A study involving 15,419 children over one year showed the risk of death in the group supplemented with synthetic vitamin A (8,333 IU daily) was 54% less.  [Rahmathullah L, Underwood BA, Thulasiraj RD, Milton RC, Ramaswamy K, Rahmathullah R, Babu G. Reduced mortality among children in southern India receiving a small weekly dose of vitamin A. N Engl J Med. 1990 Oct 4;323(14):929-35.]

13.  A study with lung cancer patients over age 60 showed that those patients taking supplements including antioxidant vitamins like A, C, and E had a dramatic 68% increase in survival, from only 11 months in non-users to an astounding 41 months for the vitamin users (median survival). [Jatoi A, Daly BD, Kramer G, et al. A cross-sectional study of vitamin intake in postoperative non-small cell lung cancer patients. J Surg Oncol. 1998 Aug;68(4):231-6.]

14.  A study that showed daily oral administration of high-dose vitamin A (300,000 IU daily) was effective in reducing the number of lung cancers related to tobacco consumption and improved disease-free interval in patients surgically-treated for stage I lung cancer.  [Pastorino U, Infante M, Maioli M, Chiesa G, Buyse M, Firket P, Rosmentz N, Clerici M, Soresi E, Valente M, et al. Adjuvant treatment of stage I lung cancer with high-dose vitamin A. J Clin Oncol. 1993 Jul;11(7):1216-22.]

15.  A study in 595 critically-ill ICU patients showed that supplemental vitamin C and vitamin E reduced the risk of multiple organ system failure by an amazing, statistically significant 57% along with a shorter duration of mechanical ventilation and length of ICU stay. [Nathens AB, Neff MJ, Jurkovich GJ, Klotz P, Farver K, Ruzinski JT, Radella F, Garcia I, Maier RV. Randomized, prospective trial of antioxidant supplementation in critically ill surgical patients. Ann Surg. 2002 Dec;236(6):814-22.]