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There are soem essential minerals and Vits that people might- and hte key word here is might... need IF and only IF they are low on them- Vitimin D dificiency causes problems, Vit B-12 dificiency can cause soem pretty nasty problems, especially in peopel who can’t absorb it in intestines who have itnestinal problems, and peopel with blood sugar problems might need to suppliment with chromium picolinate to help regulate both high and low blood sugar levels- however, the vast majority of people get all the vitimins andm inerals they need throuygh their diet- even if that diet isn’t exactly the healthiest in the world

The vitimin industry is a huge rip off for most people- and they know people are desperate for that ‘magic pill’ that ‘miracle cure’, and they play on people’s emotions in order to sell their products- but the fact is that most vitimins in excess are pissed out of the system, doign very little and infact, possibly doing harm to those with compromised immune systems or hormonal problems.

Vitimins and minerals and herbs are a very tricky business if you don’t know what you’re doing- people with overactive immune systems are playing with fire by taking immune boosting vits and mins, and people with hormonal problems or imbalances hear that so and so vit or min or herb is ‘good for so and so hormone ‘balance’ however, whiel that might be true, boosting one hormone level might trigger another hormone to go out of whack, and messign with hormones aint a good thing- it can really screw someone up, especially when you start ‘adjusting hormones’ by using hormone altering vits mins or herbs artificially

There are also several vitimins that when taken in excess can cause problems, and some, like Selenium, and Vitimin E, can actually accelorate the cancers they are purported to ‘help’ or ‘cure’ (some unscrupulous vitimin suppliers are still using ‘cure’ or hinting at ‘cures’, again, playing on people’s fear)

sinanju brings up a good point too- buying cheap vitimins- you never know how the actual active ingredients are made, what they are made from, or what the inert ingredients are- stuff from china in the past has proven to be very questionable, and even dangerous in certain items and goods- IF you are goign to buy vitimins mins or herbs, do so from reputable busiensses here i nthe states who aren’t goign to lie or scrimp or cut coerners because to do so 2ould ruin them

Puritan’s Pride company often has great sales- buy 2 get three free, buy one, get 2 free etc -worth checkign out for htose who need vits mins or herbs- they’ve been around a long time, very fast shipping, good service, etc, and are quite reputqable

Marie also brings up a very good point- only certain forms of vits and mins really do any good i nthe body- especially in people with problematic stomachs or intestines- which make it difficult to digest, absorb, or convert certain vits mins and herbs- Take B-12 for isntance, peopel with bowel problems can’t absorb B-12 in the form usually found in vitimins, but they can absorb more readily what B-12 converts into (B-12 Methylcobalmin)(sp?)

and another point, peopel with htigns liek Crohn’s disease often have vitimin malnutrition- however, adding vits willy nilly can be quite bad for the person, as they can leech calcium from bones, and increasing blood calcium, causing more frequent kidney stones which peopel with Crohn’s are susceptible to anyways (that’s why they need to be careful of meds that leech calcium from bones- like prednisone which is often prescrivbed for Crohn’s- But Vitimin D suppliments have also been known to increase kidney stone occurances too)

Bottom line- finetuning by suppliminenting is a risky busienss, and a confusing one- be careful, and do some homework- but try to get most of your nutrients out of good foods, and most people will be fine, perhaps only occasionally needign to add certain suppliments