The Vita Myth

[Tars]

I'm not a homeopath or a nutritionist. But I trust Dr. Dean Edell's position: "if you want to take vitamins, go ahead, in moderation. But you should really depend on a good rounded diet to provide your body with the nutrients it needs".

Now, I know I could find a zillion articles, books, youtube videos that extol the miraculous virtues of whatever vitamin, diet, supplement, regimen the author is trying to sell. For myself though, I tend to give more trust to an editorial from folks who don't have an immediate self-interest in selling me their particular product:

From Slate.com (https://www.slate.com/):

The Vita Myth (https://www.slate.com/id/2240688/)

Do supplements really do any good? (https://www.slate.com/id/2240688/)

Excerpt:

"Individual vitamins and minerals haven't fared much better under scientific scrutiny, with research debunking some of the reputed benefits of vitamin B6, calcium, niacin, and others. In 2006, the National Institutes of Health convened an independent panel of experts to evaluate the evidence that vitamins could prevent chronic disease. The scientists ultimately issued a report stating that studies "do not provide strong evidence for beneficial health-related effects of supplements taken singly, in pairs, or in combinations."

The news on antioxidants, the darlings of the vitamin menagerie, is even more troubling. These compounds, which include vitamins A, C, and E, selenium, beta carotene, and folate, fight free radicals, unstable compounds thought to damage cells and contribute to aging. But not only do antioxidant supplements fail (https://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/301/1/39) to (https://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/2008.864) protect (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15769967) against (https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-04/aua-ves041409.php) heart disease, stroke, and cancer; they actually increase the risk of death, according to a 2007 analysis of research on more than 232,000 people (https://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/297/8/842), published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, as well as other studies (https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6653-high-doses-of-vitamin-e-may-hasten-death.html)."

[notsomuch]

Yeah, the only thing is that advice doesn't take a doctor - it's common sense.

If we want to go beyond common sense, though we simply have to have the knowledge rather than make blanket statements dismissing an entire class of things without qualifying the situations under which some may be useful. (there are clearly conditions which make people deficient in certain nutrients and they would need to supplement those, aren't there?) Anyone who knows a little about supplements would quickly recognize the point made by the 2007 study because they're talking about fat soluble vitamins like A and E as opposed to water soluble ones like C, that has been known for quite some time way before 2007.

I understand there has been meta-analyses done on the use of supplements, which of course is a mixed bag, and of course you'll have others who deconstruct the methodology they use.

I will admit, though that after having taken many and sold supplements myself, and then later gaining some perspective I can see the consumer behavior that basically amounts to a "more is better" mentality, and of course that's not necessarily so. But the very fact that these medical professionals tries to debunk supplements across the board should tell you something. Even if it isn't in the naturally occurring form from food, the nature of the thing being a nutrient should tell you something about whether it has a role in your dietary intake at all. As it is now, I think I'm not taking quite enough - or more accurately I'm probably not taking the specific ones I need after going to the other extreme, which in my case is just not paying attention.

In a nutshell, both positions are too black and white, gross generalizations and unreasonable - and actually overly simplistic. When it comes to supplements, the myth is probably that it is that simple.

[notsomuch]

By the way, in terms of self interest discouraging the competition is not immediate, but is conceivably part of the picture isn't it? After all the supplement industry is a big enough force to be reckoned with right?