-
Source: ONE News -
Related
I know I run the risk of being shot down in flames by the health supplement industry, or conversely the conventional medical world, for what I am about to say.
But I'll put it out there for debate as it's an argument that keeps raising its head again and again in study after study: Do vitamin pills really make you healthier? What are the facts? And who do you believe?
Take the latest study from the US which hit the media this week.
A study of 162,000 post-menopausal women undertaken over an eight year period at a cancer research centre in Seattle has found those who took multivitamins for years had no lower risk of stroke, cancer, heart attack or premature death than women who took none at all.
The study authors say: "This is a pretty definitive statement that vitamins are not harming anybody but they are not benefiting them either in terms of certain chronic disease risks."
They also said that all that was needed for good nutrition was a good, balanced diet strong in fruit and vegetables and that "if people think they're getting all their essential nutrients through a vitamin pill it isn't true. There's nothing better than the actual foods".
The accepted wisdom is that the extra nutrients from supplements are simply not needed and the body responds by excreting them as surplus.
Which suggests that the millions who pop vitamin pills in the US (a $US20 billion annual industry) and indeed the world, may just be producing very expensive urine.
This study follows another published last November, this time involving 14,000 male doctors in the US, which found that taking vitamin E or C supplements didn't cut their risk of cancer or heart disease.
Recent studies too have raised doubt about the effectiveness of supplements like Echinacea to ward off colds and flu. And taking vitamin C tablets, too, is seen as no guarantee of preventing a cold, as essential as this vitamin is for general health and wellbeing.
But talk to any health supplement practitioner here in New Zealand and you are informed most assuredly that vitamins are, indeed, beneficial.
Some people they argue, just don't get a good balanced diet and do have genuine nutritional gaps. Others don't absorb some vitamins well, hence those with vitamin deficiencies.
I am one of them. My GP has put me on iron tablets for anaemia. Lord knows why I suffer from it as I am such a good girl and eat my share of red meat and green leafy vegetables each week. I clearly need a booster of iron and I admit it has helped me feel more energised.
Folic acid supplements for women contemplating pregnancy is another positive reason to take vitamins. It is a well-proven and widely-accepted medical fact that folic acid in the early stages of pregnancy helps prevent neural tube defects in the growing baby.
And what about lack of vitamin D? We hear again and again of the risk a lack of sunlight poses to the elderly. By not getting enough sun they are running the risk of vitamin D deficiency and they are actively encouraged to expose themselves to as much sunlight as is safely possible to boost their flagging levels. Surely a vitamin D supplement must be a good idea then?
Many folk swear by their vitamins and wouldn't go a day without them.
Yet we continually hear of studies like this one, involving thousands of people, which raise concerns and question their effectiveness.
Confused? Many people must be!
Do you agree with what Lorelei is discussing? Share your view on the messageboard below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentannmarie55 said on 2009-02-19 @ 02:22 NZDT: Report abusive post
My oncologist states that only a multivitamin is needed along with a healthy diet...your body will keep what it needs and expell the rest thru your urine.
deftlyhandled said on 2009-02-17 @ 11:40 NZDT: Report abusive post
A healthy person, with a healthy diet and lifestyle should have no need of vitamin supplements. (I hope the link works) http://www.scientificblogging.com/erin039s_spin/vitamins_and_nutrients_12_things_you_should_know_you_pop_any_pills
pimp my latte said on 2009-02-16 @ 06:13 NZDT: Report abusive post
So whats wrong with just eating lots of fresh fruit and veges? Vitamin pills might cost a lot less, but in my experience when you pay less for something nowadays... the quality is never what you quite hoped for.
wayno said on 2009-02-15 @ 12:53 NZDT: Report abusive post
some studies don't use a standard cross section of society for their sample base. I take vitamin C and I know i get sick a lot less than if I don't take it. if i do get sick then taking tens of grams a day of vitamin C gets rid of infections a lot faster than taking a low dose. cancer has been successfully treated by mega dosing with vitamin C and other anti oxidants, sometimes in the hundreds of grams of Vitamin C a day. tests show that all this vitamin c does get used in the body when sick
mbarnes said on 2009-02-14 @ 08:02 NZDT: Report abusive post
Its all a matter of dose. The last study to be published 500mg vit C, 600IU vit E alt days and b carotene50mg alt days-who in their right mind would think 500mg vit c would prevent cancer. You need to give several doses through the day to maintain a certain plasma concentration. Where the dose of vit E and b carotene came from is anyones guess. The commonest reason drug trials fail is inadequate dosing and the same is true of these vitamin trials. For data on vit D see www.vitaminD3world.com