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By George D Henderson (AHCS)
US poison control statistics in 2003 showed no deaths due to vitamins. The deaths due to herbs and minerals are discussed below.
I can't help noticing the very low rate of heroin deaths in the US;
I've heard of more people than this dying in one night in Melbourne
from heroin overdoses. Either US heroin is very weak/expensive (which
I've heard is the case), or other drugs are combined with heroin in
almost all deaths, or OD deaths just aren't being reported to poison
centres.
from: http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml
HERBS, AMINO ACIDS, MINERALS: FAR SAFER THAN ANY DRUG
(OMNS) American poison control statistics show that in one year,
there were 28 deaths from heroin; acetaminophen (the active ingredient
in products like Tylenol ) killed 147. Though acetaminophen killed over
five times as many as an illegal drug, few would say that we should
make this generally regarded as safe, over-the-counter pain reliever
require prescription.
Yet misconceptions and misinformation about alleged dangers of mineral,
herbal and amino acid supplements are persistent, in spite of the lack
of scientific evidence to support such fearfulness.
MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS
The 2003 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control
Centers Toxic Exposures Surveillance System, published in the American
Journal of Emergency Medicine (1), lists eight deaths in the “mineral
supplement” category. Five are not from supplements at all, but rather
are from pharmacological sources rightly termed electrolytes : two from
sodium and three from potassium (p 389). Pharmacologic doses of sodium
and potassium are usually given in hospital intravenously and are a
frequent cause of electrolyte imbalance. Two deaths were allegedly due
to iron overdose. Since 1986, there has been an average of two deaths
per year associated with iron supplements. The sole remaining death was
from calcium, a mineral that is employed medically for its antidote
properties. In fact, in 2003, calcium was used as a lifesaving antidote
in 5,228 cases (p 344). There is no evidence that the single listed
calcium death was from a supplement, and the odds are overwhelming that
it was not. That makes a year’s total of perhaps two deaths “associated
with” a supplemental mineral. Caffeine also killed two people in 2003.
Yet tea, coffee and cola soft drinks are not sold with restriction,
prescription, or in childproof bottles, and rather few would maintain
that they need to be.
HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS
The 2003 Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers
Toxic Exposures Surveillance System indicates a total of 13 deaths
attributed to herbal preparations. Three of these are from ephedra, two
from yohimbe, and two from ma-huang. Accepting all seven claims of
deaths attributed to these products, we still find that there were over
20 times as many deaths each year from acetaminophen.
Only three deaths are attributable to other single ingredient
botanicals, and oddly enough, their identity remains unnamed in the
Toxic Exposures report. Reporting three deaths without naming the cause
is a clear admission of uncertainty.
Millions of persons take herbal remedies, and have done so for
generations. Indigenous and Westernized peoples alike have found them
to be safe and effective, and the 2003 Report of the American
Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposures Surveillance
System confirms this (p 388-389). There have been no deaths at all from
cultural medicines, including ayurvedic, Asian, Hispanic, and in fact,
from all others.
Additionally, we find:
Blue cohosh: 0 deaths
Ginko biloba: 0 deaths
Echinacea: 0 deaths
Ginseng: 0 deaths
Kava kava: 0 deaths
St John's wort: 0 deaths
Valerian: 0 deaths
Furthermore, there have been zero deaths from phytoestrogens, glandulars, blue-green algae, or homeopathic remedies.
AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENTS
In 2003, poison control centers reported zero deaths from amino acids.
SO WHERE ARE THE BODIES?
Natural health products, such as amino acids, herbs, minerals, and
other nutritional supplements, have a proven safe usage history. This
is clearly demonstrated by the 2003 Annual Report of the American
Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposures Surveillance
System, published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.
References:
1. Watson WA et al. Vol. 22, No. 5, September 2004, p 335-404.
(http://www.aapcc.org/Annual%20Reports/03report/Annual%20Report%202003.pdf
or http://www.aapcc.org/poison1.htm)
What is Orthomolecular Medicine?
Linus Pauling defined orthomolecular medicine as "the treatment of
disease by the provision of the optimum molecular environment,
especially the optimum concentrations of substances normally present in
the human body." Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective
nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org
The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.
Editorial Review Board:
Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.
Harold D. Foster, Ph.D.
Bradford Weeks, M.D.
Carolyn Dean, M.D. N.D.
Erik Paterson, M.D.
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D.
http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml
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