Can Your Supplements Kill You? | Dr.Steve's Bottom Line

by DrSteve on June 27, 2010

I was a little miffed upon seeing an email sent out today from a prominent online alternative/natural information publisher. The claim was that : According to the “American Poison Control Centers," the number of deaths resulted from taking vitamins is ZERO. I am all for natural integrative medicine, herbs, supplements and vitamins but I found that this statement was more than a little irresponsible. Why? This is crucial for you to know...First of all, if one were to look at vitamins alone, then the statistics regard death MIGHT be close to correct, but the email article went on to talk about Japanese knotweed. Herein lies the part of the problem. The general public is not always aware of what is a vitamin vs. a supplement vs. an herbal medication. Even this "authority" is apparently confused. Why is this distinction important and does this mean that vitamins are totally safe? Several VERY important things to think about....

If you read the American Association Poison Control Centers reports, you will indeed find that they do not list vitamins as directly responsible for deaths. However, you will also see that between the vitamins and "plants" categories there were about 120,000 "human exposures", which means they had to do something like pumping stomachs and other interventions because people were sick from taking the vitamins or herbals. If you assume that some of the "topicals" were "natural" then it may push it over 200,000. What is criminal is that 15,000 "exposures" were in kids <5 years old. Granted that some were likely accidents but one has to wonder if parents were unwittingly giving kids things that they were unaware might make them VERY sick.

The one thing that is not stated here is that all of this may very well be UNDER-reported. Personally, I know that some patients who I operate on bleed so much they require a transfusion and in some cases almost bled to death. Even though it was denied before surgery, upon further discussion with patient or family it was uncovered that they were indeed taking a lot of supplements that can interfere with blood clotting. Other herbals and supplements can interfere with medications given during surgery, and lead to seizures and other really bad events.

Here is a recent study which covers more ground on this topic, related to herbals which are EXTREMELY complex. Many of these are natural drugs folks. They act on the same metabolic pathways as do prescription drugs. Caution has to come with use, and unfortunately due to no regulation, it is not really possible to know what is in all of those preparations. There is a LOT of good, but it comes with a lot of potential risks also. So, caveat emptor and be careful out there. Don't believe everything you read and KNOW everything that you put into your body, both upsides and downsides.

J Forensic Sci. 2010 Jan;55(1):89-92.

A review of the potential forensic significance of traditional herbal medicines.

Byard RW.

Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, Australia. byard.roger@saugov.sa.gov.au

Abstract

Traditional herbal substances may contain highly toxic chemicals and heavy metals, in addition to naturally occurring organic toxins. These substances may cause illness, exacerbate pre-existing ill health or result in death, particularly if taken in excess or in an unusual manner (e.g., injected rather than ingested). Lack of regulation of the content and quality of herbal medicines may result in contamination and adulteration with prescription medications. As there may be no history of the specific use of these products their contribution to death may not be fully appreciated during a standard autopsy. Even when their existence is known or suspected, it may be difficult to identify these substances on standard toxicologic screening. Herbal medicines may also be responsible for a range of symptoms and signs that may confuse the clinical presentation of cases. Given these issues the role of herbal medicines in forensic practice needs to be more clearly defined as deaths may be occurring where herbal medicines have made a significant, but as-yet unrecognized, contribution.

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

monica yearwood July 29, 2011 at 12:14 pm

i agree, as an herbalist, there are dangers associated with vitamins and minerals. but, the amount of deaths and hospitalizations associated with them are relatively low compared to pharmaceutical drugs, so how can you gurantee the decrease of these instances just because a doctor is prescribing them? secondly, there are companies and herbalists who work hard to educate themselves appropriately on the efficiency and use of these herbs. how much education does a doctor acquire regarding their use? do you think you can gain enough through a weekend seminar? or will you choose to rely on the education you receive from your pharmaceutical rep?

Dr Steve November 26, 2011 at 8:37 am: The main point raised is that no one has any idea about the real number of deaths and hospitalizations due to natural substances. However, this only means we (meaning ALL practitioners who learn proper applications of natural supplements and herbals) should strive to determine this better and to keep elevating the science and art to higher levels. The reason this blog exists is that I personally believe there is clearly a place for natural remedies, in preference to synthetic drugs in many cases. In some cases this is not true and that forms the basis for integrative medical practice, combining the best of both natural and mainstream in judicious and optimal use.

As far as who knows best and where this is learned, there are many sources of appropriate education. It would be just as foolhardy to try to practice natural approaches using information gained in a weekend seminar or from a pharmaceutical rep as it would be to practice without an in-depth understanding of how the human body works on as many levels as possible. This used to be basic anatomy, physiology and biochemistry. But now it involves the molecular sciences of epigenetics and nutrigenomics and is getting more complex as we learn more. However, in the end, our bodily processes are the same no matter how deeply they are understood. The good news is that they can be influenced by many approaches, from prescription drugs through nutrition, supplements, herbals, mind-body and more. The trick is to find out what combination works best for any given circumstance. This is where Mother Nature’s sciences will help us determine this and hopefully guide us towards primarily natural health in the long run.

Having said all that, I have seen practitioners from many backgrounds be effective healers, especially if they collaborate.

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