Danestress Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 What do you think of this article, which my husband left on my computer screen to greet me this morning: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/health/17well.html?_r=1&8dpc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I agree with it. I take a multivitamin just in case I'm missing some essential vitamin, but I don't expect that by taking vitamins I'm extending my life or making myself healthier. Seems to me a lot of people think that vitamins are working some significant magic in their bodies (for lack of another word...you know I don't mean magic per se), something the expensive vitamin makers would love for people to believe. Call me a skeptic... Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Can we still reply?;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Well, whether it was from bad food choices or our environment, I was severely deficient in some vitamins. I was so deficient in vitamin D - even though I go outside - that my teeth were decalcifying, my bones burned with pain and I had other significant symptoms. I am improving with taking high doses of vitamin D. Since vitamin D requires calcium and magnesium to work correctly, I take those too. I have thyroid problems. I am taking selenium - a mineral that is deficient in the soil in many areas and thus does not get into the food that we eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Can we still reply?;) By replying without specific permission! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I take certain vitamins for certain conditions, not really in order to prevent issues or live longer. ETA: Except during pregnancy, I don't take a multi-vitamin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteB Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Well, whether it was from bad food choices or our environment, I was severely deficient in some vitamins. I was so deficient in vitamin D - even though I go outside - that my teeth were decalcifying, my bones burned with pain and I had other significant symptoms. I am improving with taking high doses of vitamin D. Since vitamin D requires calcium and magnesium to work correctly, I take those too. I have thyroid problems. I am taking selenium - a mineral that is deficient in the soil in many areas and thus does not get into the food that we eat. I'm with you. I really do need the supplements to function. Allergies prevent me from getting all the nutrients I need from foods and heredity has dealt a strange hand of ailments that need to be calmed with extra nutrients! My motor winds down when I forget my vitamins. I really do dislike having to take them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I'm with you. I really do need the supplements to function. Allergies prevent me from getting all the nutrients I need from foods and heredity has dealt a strange hand of ailments that need to be calmed with extra nutrients! My motor winds down when I forget my vitamins. I really do dislike having to take them. :iagree: Some people's bodies need much more than most. Perhaps life span isn't increased by taking vitamins, but for some people they significantly improve the health and quality of life. Also, I have to wonder whenever I read about studies "proving" anything - I've tried to be involved in a number of medical studies, only to discover that a few health issues disqualify me for the studies. If only the completely healthy people are allowed into studies, it seems unlikely that those studies' results will be accurate for the general population, which has a variety of health issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna in OH Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I take vitamins, but only to supplement my diet..."just in case"! I do know I need the extra calcium, so that is my primary concern. I am moving away from the Standard American Diet and found the following books especially thought-provoking: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan The China Study by T. Colin Campbell Donna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I don't put a lot of stock in studies. I go more by personal experience and by the experience of those I trust. I do need a good multi-vitamin (especially high in B) to function well. I can tell a major change physically and emotionally when I haven't been taking one for a few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon H in IL Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Averages don't mean anything in a particular case, they're just . . . averages. Between my DH (an MD) and my internist and myself, we've figured out that I need lots of extra iron, zinc, C, D, and protein (yes, I know that latter isn't a pill :D). I suffered way too long from inadequate amounts of those from a basically healthful diet. So I think you can use trial and error or medical tests to determine if you need supplements or not. I for one am extremely grateful they're available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Actually, I think it's mostly on the mark--and yet... LOL ;) When I don't take my whole food multivitamin for a long period of time, *I can tell*. I'm not a gal who necessarily hoped and fervently wanted vitamins to work because for pete's sake I don't need to spend the money or try to remember one more stinking thing in my life. LOL! But they DO make a difference for me. I eat healthy on most days and yet I still benefit from the few vitamins I take. So whether I'm enjoying the short term benefits or they really are having a lasting affect on my health, I'll continue to take them and just not obsess about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen sn Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Well - aside from taking melatonin - I know of no other thing we can do to combat the negative effects of MSG. So if they're basing the reasearch for this article on food that most Americans eat (white sugar, white flour, MSG, hydrogenated oils, etc.....) then NO! Vitamins are not really gonna do much for ya in the face of that. Especially synthetic vitamins. Avoidance of most processed crap with the addition of quality nutrients/supplements was not studied in this article. Did they look at DHA or CoQ10? Highly doubt it. I quote the article here: But a balanced diet typically provides an adequate level of these nutrients, and today many popular foods are fortified with extra vitamins and minerals. As a result, diseases caused by nutrient deficiency are rare in the United States. The crap vitamins we fortify with are not good. There is a difference between real and fake. There is a difference in Calcium carbonate, calcium citrate, calcium lactate, calcium gluconate.... Potassium chloride in a megadose is a lethal injection. I have often wondered why it is used in small doses in water made by soda companies. Supose someone slips and lets a little too much in. In my nursing school book I read that Potassium Chloride causes the body to excrete it's own Calcium, Potassium, and Magnesium. How can that be good? Why not use Potassium citrate? This from Wikipedia:Potassium chloride occurs naturally as sylvite, and it can be extracted from sylvinite. It is also extracted from salt water and can be manufactured by crystallization from solution, flotation or electrostatic separation from suitable minerals. It is a by-product of the making of nitric acid from potassium nitrate and hydrochloric acid. I am guessing the KCl in water from soda companies uses the by product source. Much like the flouride in our water is a by product of aluminum production. I believe in quality sourced vitamins in amounts that the body can use - not too much, not too little. The quality of our food in this country is sickening (literally). Love Linus Pauling, Abram Hoffer, Adelle Davis, and Earl Mindell. Gonna stick with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bess Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Well, I know for a fact, for me taking magnesium cures my Restless Leg Syndrome within 15 minutes. Also taking 5-HTP shows a significant improvement in my mood. I don't care what kind of study is done, if it works for me, I'm going to keep taking it. As to multi-vitamins... I don't see any difference when I take or don't take. But specific vitamins for specific issues... most definitely, YES I notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I don't take a multi-vitamin. I do use "dietary supplements", which the article seems to portray as synonymous with multi-vitamins... I wonder how many of the 50% of adults mentioned are using things like ginkgo, melatonin and others, and not multi-vitamins. We eat whole foods and use whole herbs. I don't think there is anything mysterious about the need for nutrients for overall health but, as Karen pointed out, synthetic nutrients are not the same, nor are nutrients isolated outside the biochemical context in which they normally exist. “There may not be a single component of broccoli or green leafy vegetables that is responsible for the health benefits,” Dr. Gann said. “Why are we taking a reductionist approach and plucking out one or two chemicals given in isolation?”This has been the herbalists' lament for years. Nice of Dr. Gann to catch on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I also eat a good, healthful diet with lots of organic-when-possible fruits and veggies and avoid a lot of the bad stuff... I exercise... I drink water... and I still need my (natural) vitamin/mineral supplements! I can definitely tell when I don't take mine, either. Either I shake like a parkinsonian or I sack out at 10 a.m. and my blood sugar goes haywire. My iridologist thinks I'm a very interesting case lol. I take chelated calcium on top of that because my mother and grandmother both have horrid osteoporosis so I want to max out my calcium. That's six 'pills' a day that I'd really rather not take, but it's either that or suffer the consequences. I have my kids take a balanced, natural multivitamin as well since they're kids and just sometimes WON'T eat what they need. We're hardly ever sick - in fact, my 3-yo daughter came down with a cold yesterday - the first she's had all winter - and while she has some mucus, it's not nearly as bad as her friends when they've been sick recently. You can't show me a study and make me believe something that goes against what I can see with my own two eyes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I didn't read the article, but I do take vitamins and other nutritional supplements. I will say that my routine has been devised on what I've learned over the years about my own particular body. I lay no claim that my routine should be imitated by anyone else and I certainly won't claim that my routine will result in an extended life span. I will, however, say that my body definitely functions better with certain supplements taken regularly. I find that regular Vitamin B complex supplements and magnesium make a huge difference in my nervous system function. When I keep up the supplements I am able to remain more calm and focused. When I don't take them I become irritable and depressed. For me, the difference is amazing. I have sometimes dropped off taking them because I either run out and don't bother to get more quickly or because I get tired of always trying to remember to take them or tired of spending the money. After a month or two, I usually become cranky, stressed out, and depressed. The transformation after just a couple of days to a week of supplementing again always amazes me. The other supplement that makes a huge difference for me is zinc. For several years now, I have supplemented with zinc once the colds and flus start to hit our area. I am sick far less frequently in the wintertime now. If I do get a cold, I find I haven't been taking my zinc. I quickly add extra zinc and that tends to cut the length of time I am symptomatic as well as the severity of symptoms. When I do feel a cold coming on, I take other supplements as well, but it seems to be the zinc that makes a dramatic difference. I do take other vitamins and supplements but these are the ones I can definitely say I *know* they have an effect on how well my body functions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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