http://www.care2.com/greenliving/are-your-vitamins-working.html
Are Your Vitamins Working?
By Melissa Breyer, Senior Editor, Healthy & Green Living
It’s a space-age idea that most of us have become completely accustomed to: condense the nutritious elements of food into a neat little pill. Take the pill–and bingo!–you have what you need for health. It’s a theory and practice hugely popular in America ever since the 1970s when chemist extraordinaire Linus Pauling began promoting the importance of supplemental vitamins–in particular, vitamin C to ward off colds.
The health benefits of taking dietary supplements has been controversial in medical circles, but the American public has eaten the idea up–to the tune of $23 billion dollars per year. Half of all American adults take some type of dietary supplement, according to an article in The New York Times. But the article also points out that several highly-quality studies have failed to prove that extra vitamins in pill form prevent disease or prolong life.
Of these studies on the topic, the latest was published in the The Archives of Internal Medicine which looked at multivitamin use in postmenopausal women. The conclusion reads: After a median follow-up of 8.0 and 7.9 years in the clinical trial and observational study cohorts, respectively, the Women’s Health Initiative study provided convincing evidence that multivitamin use has little or no influence on the risk of common cancers, CVD, or total mortality in postmenopausal women.
As quoted in The New York Times article, “We call them essential nutrients because they are,” said Marian L. Neuhouser, an associate member in cancer prevention at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. “But there has been a leap into thinking that vitamins and minerals can prevent anything from fatigue to cancer to Alzheimer’s. That’s where the science didn’t pan out.”
But I don’t think it’s enough to simply say, “Vitamins don’t work.” I’d like to see a study or two that investigates the role vitamin supplements have played in compensating for the depleted nutrition levels of produce that industrial agriculture has reaped. And I’d like to see another few studies on how vitamin supplements help people that, for whatever reason, are unable to eat well-balanced meals.
Scientists suspect that the benefits of a healthful diet come from eating the whole fruit or vegetable, not just the individual vitamins found in it. So the moral of the story might just be: finish your fruits and vegetables–if you’re lucky enough to have them.
I know many people that swear by the benefits of their vitamin regimens. Are you one of them? I’d love to hear how vitamins have helped you. Leave your thoughts in the comment field below.
For ideas about getting your food vitamins and minerals during these warming-up months, read Top 10 Superfoods for Spring.
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24 comments
add your comment »1) Carotenoid scanners do correlate with carotenoid-containing vegetable & fruit intake somewhat. In hypothyroidism & some other conditions, carotenes may not be converted to vitamin A and therefore accumulate in the skin, giving a falsely high impression of intake. Carotenoid scanners do not correlate accurately to the other many antioxidant & antioxidant systems in the body, e.g. the crossroads of antioxidant systems, glutathione system (which includes selenium) and vitamin C, e.g. vitamin Es, and e.g. superoxide dismutase & catalase systems. Additional tests are needed to pick up on these. One could literally be quite full of carotenoids & yet have antioxidant systems not working well as I've seen in many carotenoids-eating folks with hormone skews, immune skews, & aged systems.
2) Investigate what is being done in the Functional Medicine field with nutrient supplementation, & what studies that successful clinical work is based on, before you dare say "vitamins don't work". Or look at Melyn R. Werbach, MD's books _Nutritional Influences on Illness_, _Nutritional Influences on Mental Illness_, etc. Those books are from a few doublings of the literature ago & so there is much more available along those lines nowadays, but that's a start. Stop making sweeping statements and instead ask "what, when, for what, for whom?". Which particular supplementation (vitamin, mineral, amino acid, etc), for whom, for what, monitored how, when &
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I was hugely unaware that when it comes to taking multivitamins it all comes down to absorption rates. Some multivitamins can actually harm you! I believe that multivitamins are no substitute for a healthy diet but if you're not eating properly then be honest with yourself and maybe consider supplements.
I have taken a scan test to read skin carotenoid content which apparently is more effective than blood tests because skin retains the info for a longer period of time and I scanned low.
Here is the award winning scanner info:
www.nuselfesteem.pharmanexscanner.com
I first changed my diet and got rescanned and yes, I scanned better!
Only then did I start taking this supplement
http://www.nsedreams.com/pwp/productInfo.do?prodId=02003610
and my immune system has strengthened. I'm just overcoming a terrible flu (fever, cough and cold) and I was able to recover within 2 weeks without taking any meds other than this multivitamin and lots of veggies. In the past I would have gone to the doctor and relied on pharmaceutical help and I know the whole process would be lengthy. No more.
Even this company's competitor admitted that so far this product had the best absorption rates among other products available in today's market.I will get scanned before I try the competitor's multivitamin and because of the scanner I get to actually see if it works better or not.
I don't rely on nice people or good advertising to convince me; I like to be able to measure the resul
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Hi Nancy Freedland...you just listed off 5 symptoms of hypothyriodism. Have you had your thyroid checked?
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We interrupt the mad rush to be medicated by Big Pharma with the Good News that Nature Provides everything we need to prevent and reverse physical, mental and emotional illness. Celebrate this knowledge and learn from nature how to truly heal... Big Pharma attacks all natural modalities including vitamins... I agree chemical vitamins made by BIG PHARMA do not work, so that part is true. Try herbs, whole food organic vitamins and EXPERIENCE the truth for yourself. It will set you free.
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I take supplements of minerals & vitamins for several things that doctors' prescriptions never helped: I have severe osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia which is helped with specialized propietary blends; I occasionally have high blood pressure which no regular prescriptions ever helped, but a natural supplement did; I've been taking evening primrose oil & black cohosh for menopause & have not had too many bad menopausal problems; I recently found out that I've been deficient in zinc, which has made it difficult for me to lose weight even when I "over-exercise" & eat well, so I now take zinc; I've had leg cramps since puberty & now take a propietary blend that has stopped the cramps. With most of these natural products, if I stop taking them I definitely notice an increase in the problems I had before I started taking them. No prescription drugs have helped this much, nor do I care to take drugs with unknown side effects that may cause more problems in the future.
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I'm iron deficient anemic and lacto-ovo veg. I take a regular multi with iron and it makes me feel better. When I forget to take it, it shows. My energy is low and I don't feel like doing anything. As soon as I take my multi the next day, I feel great! So, they work for me. :-)
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Melissa,
I have Anklyosing Spondylitis and Fibromyalgia, so I find that by taking a good regime of Supplements along with the Fruits and Vegetables that I eat, my Immune System is stronger and I feel a lot better. Glucosamine and Chondroitin is a combination that is great for joint problems, because it actually helps to rebuild Cartilage and Connective Tissue. Without the Supplements I take, I would be in more pain and be exhausted each day. I don't want to sound like I am Spamming, but I get my Supplements from a company called Swansons Vitamins, they are just like wholesale. What is interesting to know, is that a lot of Joint Specialists are recommending that their patients take the Supplements that I am taking.
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I take a daily mult-vitamin.. I have no evidence they're working, but I feel there is little downside other than the cost (which, clearly, I feel is worth it).
That said, I wouldn't be surprised if they at least have some placebo effect, as I am convinced they give me super powers to fight evil and ward of all sorts of bad mojo. ;)
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Carol, if I were you, one of the regrets in my life would be that I didn't slap that arrogant SOB!
I have taken iron for over thirty years. I had doctors actually yell at me for taking it, but, without it I get extremely weak. Many doctors demand that you stop taking it weeks before testing, but I finally started telling them no, I've tried that and I'm not going to put my body through that hell anymore. Now, one of my tests of a good doctor that will listen: a doctor that says fine, we'll test and see if the iron you take is working. It is! Note: do not take iron or calcium within 4 hours of taking thyroid; it will keep the thyroid from being absorbed.
I take multivitamins, the above-mentioned iron, vitamin D, and calcium with magnesium and zinc. I eat vegetarian and try to consume the best quality of food that I can. I belive that vitamins and supplements work best when combined with a good diet and that your supplements with will change as your needs and body change.
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I bruise easily. I notice that when I take a multivitamin regularly I don't bruise as much.
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