Dr Argus is quite a well-known oncologist and as such his book got a lot of ‘coverage’ largely because he told the medical fraternity that they had ‘got it wrong’. No argument there!
He believes that the body is a system and that there is no one cause of either good or ill health as there are so many multiple factors which collectively contribute to the end result. I am 100% with him on this point as well. He also continues within his book to talk about the importance of exercise, regular sleep, and eating quality fresh non processed food. Once again I am with him!
BUT…then he spoils the entire concept of the book by ‘lumping’ all vitamins and supplements into basically the same barrel and promoting the use of statins and aspirin. In fact, he suggests that if you are over 50 years of age you should demand your Doctor to explain why you are not on a statin drug!
Why? Because statins can reduce inflammation in the body which is the cause of many degenerative diseases! It is the anti-inflammatory properties that help give statins heart protective properties…in some people! In others the side effects more than offset any benefits. Unfortunately he ignores two important factors, one that statins have significant side effects in many people and two that there are simple ways to get similar anti-inflammatory effects, the simplest being Omega 3 fish oils.
He also ignores the studies that have proven the negative aspects of aspirin as well. Ironically he promotes the off label use of drugs but insists on the need for large double blind placebo studies for supplements. Somewhat of a double standard!
Anyway, back to the issue of vitamins. He does demonstrate a general lack of understanding of supplementation as he focuses instead on those people and Companies who promote mega doses of single vitamins. He spends a lot of time discussing Vitamin D and the difficulty of determining what is the correct levels of this vitamin in the body. He points out that no one really knows what they should be as there are so many variables from person to person.
He says correctly that whereas you cannot overdose with Vitamin D from the sun, you can with supplements and indeed high regular doses can be toxic. Maybe this toxicity may not be apparent in the short term but it would nonetheless be affecting the overall ‘system’ (the body) in time…perhaps even by feeding cancer tumours! Once again, I agree with him which is why we have resisted ‘getting on the bandwagon’ like other companies when it has come to promoting Vitamin D supplements.
We strongly believe that Vitamin D should only be ingested in small quantities as part of a range of other vitamins and nutrients, and you should get the bulk of your Vitamin D from the sunshine. When the body is exposed to sunshine it also makes other essential components of which Vitamin D is only one. Science is still trying to figure out what they are.
He also criticises high doses of other vitamins as well such as Vitamin C as it could promote cancer! More tomorrow in Part 2!. In the meantime if you wish to read the article that prompted these blog entries.
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