TVScope Horizon: The Truth About Vitamins BBC 2, 9p.m. Thursday, September 16thIf, like me, you've never taken a vitamin but secretly worry that you should, then worry no more. Horizon has commissioned a research programme which looked at vitamins, asking if they work and, more importantly, if they are actually safe.
Vitamins are naturally forming chemicals which the body needs for healthy functioning. Available in small quantities from our diet, they cannot be produced by the body itself. Deficiencies of vitamins can cause illness such as scurvy and rickets resulting in serious disability and even death.
The British public spends £300 million per year on vitamin supplements with fitness gurus and alternative practitioners pushing the notion that without them we are sitting ducks as far as illness is concerned. The late Professor Linus Pauling, professor of chemistry and two-time Nobel Prize winner, was the first to promote the health benefits of supplementary vitamins. In 1960 he claimed that vitamins could not only cure diseases caused by deficiencies but could also prevent conditions such as cancer, heart disease and ageing.
For over 40 years we have swallowed the fact that vitamins are a simple means to protect our health. But it now seems that this is not in fact the case.
The Linus Pauling Institute in the US - a leading authority on vitamins - has tested some of their founder's theses and come up with some surprising results. Vitamin C, the most popular vitamin, is believed to boost the immune system. Investigations found that taking large doses of it once you have a cold will reduce symptoms by approximately 20 per cent. However, research revealed that that consuming copious amounts of the vitamin will not prevent you from contracting a cold.
Next under the microscope were antioxidants. Antioxidants, including vitamins A, C and E, have the ability to mop up free radicals. Free radicals are chemicals that damage cells and are believed to be involved in the development of inflammation, cancer and even heart disease. Looking at vitamin A - in this case beta carotene - American scientists tested the claim that it could protect us from lung cancer.
They enrolled 15,000 smokers into the study expecting that they had most to benefit from the protective mechanisms of the vitamin. The researchers had hoped to see a 25 - 50 per cent reduction in incidence of lung cancer but instead found that 18 per cent more people in the group than expected developed the fatal disease. In another study, British researchers found that previously healthy people who took large doses of vitamin A - Retinol - developed serious liver damage.
Studies have shown that taking doses of vitamin A at twice the recommended daily allowance, can double the risk of developing osteoporosis and sustaining a fracture of the hip.
In my view the programme produced good evidence that liberal dosing with vitamins, without reference to medical advice, can seriously damage your health. As far as vitamins go it now seems it's a case of stop taking the tablets!
Marion Kerr is an occupational therapist and freelance health writer.