Posted on 12/18/2013 8:57:00 PM PST by artichokegrower
Q
uestions about the health benefits of vitamin supplements have been percolating in the medical establishment for decades — even as the multivitamin industry has grown to a multi-billion powerhouse in the U.S. This week, the respected journal the Annals of Internal Medicine put its well-heeled foot down.
"We believe that the case is closed — supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults with (most) mineral or vitamin supplements has no clear benefit and might even be harmful," the journal said in an editorial. "These vitamins should not be used for chronic disease prevention. Enough is enough."
Here's Dr. Edgar Miller of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, one of the editorial's five co-authors: "What will protect you is if you spend the money on fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, low fat dairy, things like that," Miller tells CBS News. "Exercising would probably be a better use of the money." The only exceptions are folic acid for pregnant women and, possibly, vitamin D — the studies are mixed on its benefits and risks.
Assuming Miller and his colleagues are right — and they base their assertion on three large, recent studies — Americans have been wasting lots of money on vitamins. About half of U.S. adults take dietary supplements, and the vitamin industry has grown to $12 billion a year for vitamins alone and about $30 billion for all dietary supplements. That's just in the U.S.
(Excerpt) Read more at theweek.com ...
In 2010, John McCain tried to introduce a dietary supplement safety act in the Senate, would involve more regulation. He later withdrew support
Thanks. I will check that out
DHEA — really, really excellent anti-aging wonder stuff for cheap.
Drug companies would LOVE for that to be Rx-only.
Did you have a shortage of Mag/Potassium before taking the supplements? Were you taking Mag/ Potassium depleting meds?
What sort of “heart issues” did you have? Was your diet short in Mag./Potassium? None of these things would be answered by a stress test. If you had a treatable condition that could be helped by additional minerals then by all means take them but since I don’t suffer from those problems my taking your supplement would be wasted money.
If having enough vitamins makes a person healthy having twice enough will not make them any healthier.
Aren’t most foods “fortified” with the same vitamins?
No meat mentioned?
Quack study then. Period.
Yep. Just like they did with weight lifting supplements, the MLB, and under a RINO controlled Congress in 2005.
My diet was balanced but obviously lacked what I needed for magnesium and postassium.
I don’t think many people believe taking massive doses will make them healthier, just give them a consistent supply of what their body needs to heal itself and operate efficiently. For example, I take ~120,000% of the RDA of vitamins B6 and B12. This is to provide more energy/boost metabolism which counterbalances blood sugar spiking from diabetes. The 5-hr. Energy I occasionally take on weekend outings helps greatly too. The magnesium I take is several thousand times RDA. In these cases it is the right amount for me as lower levels have noticably negative effects on my well-being.
My (very excellent) physician wholeheartedly agrees with the B suppliments and approved of the magnesium although he didn’t correlate it (or anything) with my previous heart complaints.
BFL
.02:
Myself & others I know (more than a dozen) all have suffered negative health effects from FDA-approved/Doctor-prescribed medications on the basis of prescribed ‘treatment’.
These same people, including myself, have seen our own individual symptoms (different from those treated by the doctor) benefit from the intake of our own personal/unique combination of supplements.
Quite the dichotomy, given that’s a majority of people I know.
In my case, I have seen both positive & negative reactions to taking certain kinds of supplements. After 5 years of trial & error, I’ve been taking the same supplements, coupled with a healthy diet (no boxed foods, very little takeout) for the past >15 years. My 3 primary deficiencies: D3, B ‘complex, C. My family has a history of bone deterioration; I supplement as a result. I cannot take Multivitamins; something in them makes me ill (too much of something).
These ‘studies’ are analogous to polls showing strong support for Obamacare.
My family/friends must all be counterculture aberrations...worse: Liars, detractors, extremists. How long until not going all-in with the medical establishment is a crime? (oops...</sarc>)
The suckers are those who buy into this crap coming out of John Hopkins and the mouth of Dr Edgar Miller. This is Big Pharma/FDA/AMA propaganda because targeted supplementation undermines the need of most of the drugs, many of which are dangerous to good health, and many of which can be deadly.
The processed sugars yes because it was not available the rest they added as much as they could. Salt is very very necessary especially if you are doing physical labor. We went to great lengths to get it.
Fat give you the calories needed to keep going, allows your body to use the protein in the rest of the food, keeps your nervous system healthy and keeps your skin from drying out.
It was not usual for people to come out of winter with various physical ailments because of a lack of a balanced diet and the poor who ate dinners made of "simple raw ingredients" were often sick and died young.
“Multi-vitamins are indeed almost useless because the amounts of the active ingredients are insufficient to accomplish specific nutritional objectives.”
You are correct. RDA is no guide. RDA makes sure that supplements are in-effective.
There are a few things that are critically short in our diets and that are needed in doses much greater than RDA. You mention D3 and B-vitamins. Very much needed. I take and recommend D3 at 10,000 units daily. Vitamin C is another one that is critical. Primates, including humans do not make vitamin C. All other animals except guinea pigs make their own, and make it in great abundance where there is trama.
Dr Levy, MD and Cardiologist says cardiovascular disease is a form of scurvy. He has treated patients with mega doses via IV for years. He now says Liposomal vitamin C is even more effective. Liposomal C does not cause loose stool, btw.
Alpha Lipoic Acid is another supplement the body needs. It benefits the liver and other organs in significant ways.
There are other supplements equally important and effective. Dr Miller and John Hopkins need to stick their Big Pharma drugs up their proverbial butts.
Yes, it was GHB and helps to stimulate growth. It's all tied together - sleep and growth.
Also, haven't been able to afford it for a while - I guess it costs almost $6k a month. Since insurance pays for it and distorts the market, Jazz jacked up the price to infinity. Subsidize something and prices skyrocket. Now with Obamacare, no one is going to be able to pay for health care out of pocket.
Thanks Yardstick. And that’s just it isn’t it. They’ll use some gamed studies to do what they want, destroy an industry that people obviously support, and then... oops our bad (in five years or less). Industry a vapor trail by then.
I don’t care what topic, there are generally statistics to prove and disprove what your agenda is almost every time.
This industry wouldn’t be prospering if the U. S. Citizen wasn’t seeing any benefit from taking their wares.
Government / BUTT OUT!
For the dems, you mean. Right?
Dems don't want us managing our own health now that they have control of the medicine cabinet.
All this, with less exercise and worse eating habits. I attribute it to the fish oil.
As for DHEA, I’ll just say I am 60 years old and I don’t need any little blue pill to get the job done on a daily basis.
Go to Costco and you can get three pairs of readers for under $20.
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