Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs – NSAIDs - are common pain relievers that include ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin and other similar medicines that may be sold over-the-counter or by prescription. However, new warnings have been issued by the Food and Drug Administration. According to Consumer Reports, approximately 100,000 hospital admissions and 16,000 deaths were related to NSAIDs in 2013.
Broken bones can be deadly for race horses and also for people. Approximately 20% of women will break a hip and one fourth of them will be dead within a year. Half will never again walk independently, and one in five will live permanently in a long-term care facility. The risk of death after a hip fracture is even worse for men.
As with most things in life, too much of a good thing can be harmful. That’s also true for vitamins and minerals. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) establishes Tolerable Upper Levels of Intake for most of the essential vitamins and minerals. However, products marked as dietary supplements aren’t held to the same standards as prescription medications and may contain more than those levels. The NIH has noted that some multivitamins contain levels of vitamins and minerals that are substantially higher than the established tolerable upper levels of intake. This is especially worrisome because of added intake from fortified foods such as breakfast cereals, and fortified beverages such as vitamin water and energy drinks.
