Vitamin Supplement Safety Confirmed by America’s Largest Database
by Andrew W. Saul, Editor, The Orthomolecular Medicine News Service
(OMNS Jan 30, 2013) The new annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers shows zero deaths from multiple vitamins; zero deaths from vitamin A, niacin, vitamin B-6, vitamin D, or vitamin E.
Two people are alleged to have died from vitamin supplements in the year 2011, according to AAPCC’s interpretation of the most recent information collected by the U.S. National Poison Data System. One death was allegedly because of vitamin C; the other supposedly because of “Other B-Vitamins.” As the AAPCC report specifically indicates no deaths from niacin (B-3) or pyridoxine (B-6), that leaves folic acid, thiamine (B-1), riboflavin (B-2), biotin, and B-12 as the remaining B-vitamins that could be implicated. However, the safety record of these vitamins is extraordinarily good; no fatalities have been confirmed for any of them. Vitamin C is also an extraordinarily safe nutrient. No deaths have ever been confirmed from supplementation with vitamin C.
Even allowing that the AAPCC data is correct (and we do not), two deaths in a year associated with vitamins, nationwide, is a very small number. Well over half of the U.S. population takes daily nutritional supplements. Even if each of those people took only one single tablet daily, that makes 165,000,000 individual doses per day, for a total of over 60 billion doses annually. Since many persons take far more than just one single vitamin tablet, actual consumption is considerably higher, and the safety of nutritional supplements is all the more remarkable.
To quote Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD: “No one dies from vitamins.” The Orthomolecular Medicine News Service invites submission of specific scientific evidence conclusively demonstrating death caused by a vitamin. Association is not causation; allegation is not proof. If there were such proof, the media would have had it all over their front pages.
If vitamin supplements are allegedly so “dangerous,” then where are the bodies?
Reference:
Bronstein AC, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR et al. 2011 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System (NPDS): 29th Annual Report. Clinical Toxicology (2012), 50(10), 911-1164. The data discussed above can be found on p1134, Table 22B. https://aapcc.s3.amazonaws.com/pdfs/annual_reports/2011_NPDS_Annual_Report.pdf
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