Taking multi-vitamin pills 'does nothing for our health'

[Jacob]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2078861/Taking-multi-vitamin-pills-does-health.html

While I'm not one of those saying saying supplements can cure this or that or prevent this or that...there's something wrong with the study they did there. I'd say THEY are the ones that wasted their money. Anyone else see what I'm referring to?

 

[Cassin]

Good article. Yeah anyone taking vitamins to prevent cancer is oblivious.

I take them to fill in the gaps in my diet. Vit C, fish oil and a multi. I do feel better when I take them consistently but I don't expect too much.

 

[Boomer01]

I've always been big on taking multi-vitamins and supplements to help the body function better and get all of the nutrients that I might not be receiving from my diet. I read magazines like Men's Health that not only say to take a multi-vitamin but also D-3 (Vitamin D), Omega-3 (Fish Oil), B vitamins, etc.

A couple of months ago I saw a study that a doctor posted on another forum saying the same things as this article. Vitamins and supplements do not do anything for a health person and only help if you have a deficiency or disease. I was stunned! I know that the vitamin/supplement/drug companies push info to get people to take vitamins even though we might not need them, but now they are saying that they could actually be hurting us?!? It seemed a bit over the top, but now has me second guessing all of the supplements that I take.

 

[Jacob]

A hint to my question....look at what they had them take :whistle:

 

[Boomer01]

one containing vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, selenium and zinc

 

[Jacob]

Yep..kind of a lame "multi"...don't ya think?

 

[Boomer01]

Yeah, that's definitely not your average Centrum or One-A-Day. Those have dozens of vitamins in them.

 

[virtuality]

I take multis too.

I had a few months break from the supplements. In the last few weeks I've been feeling very unenergetic, probably due to the change in weather. This week I went to the pharmacy and got some supplements, I have to admit that I feel much better with the supplements.

 

[Koga]

How fast will one get too much iron? My multi has already 7 mg (of the 10-15 recommended), but I guess my diet has has lots of iron in it. Besides I also get a lot of vitamin C which actually helps the body absorb iron.

 

[Cassin]

In defense of Multi's I do feel different when I am not taking them. Something is helping.

 

[Chris87]

I believe vitamin supplementation makes a subtle, but important difference. I take a multi vitamin every day along with fish oil. I feel its something that is very subtle and you dont notice a huge difference until you stop taking them for awhile and think back and say "whoa that did make a difference"..it kind of sneaks up on you.

What I find that makes a huge difference though is juicing. I bought a juicer and drink raw vegetable juice every day (kale, carrots, apple, celery usually..might throw in some ginger or beets every once in awhile). What is does, especially for my skin, is just great. After a month of juicing everyday my skin has almost a tan hue/glow to it and is smoother. Definitely a noticeable difference

 

[kc444]

How fast will one get too much iron? My multi has already 7 mg (of the 10-15 recommended), but I guess my diet has has lots of iron in it. Besides I also get a lot of vitamin C which actually helps the body absorb iron.

Not sure if I understand what you're asking, but men should avoid iron in their supplements. Most "men's" multivitamins do not have iron in them because we don't excrete iron (women do when they have their period). This is what I've read, anyway.

I don't really know what to think about supplements anymore. I take a multivitamin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and fish oil. Fish oil is effective and I think everyone should take it. It noticeably helps my joints and probably helps my skin. My doctor tested for Vitamin D and I was very low, so I began taking it. I think I get seasonal affective disorder and it seems to help with that, but who knows. The research behind Vitamin C is compelling. If a person who is healthy takes it, they may be able to tolerate about 10g before getting diarrhea from it. If someone who is sick takes it, they may tolerate 50g before getting diarrhea. It's not definitive, but it appears that the body does use the additional vitamin C, making it seem like it could be beneficial. As for other vitamins though.. who knows. It always seems like the studies purposely use too low of a dosage to have an effect.

 

[wstef]

I have taken vitamin supplements for a long time and I have embarrassingly shiny, healthy nails, which I never had beforehand. I'm a 28 year old man and people ask me if I get my nails buffed!

So, they obviously do something; probably just fill in the gaps.

The Daily Mail likes to scare people. I'm sure you'll find articles that tell you that air can cause cancer, or Princess Diana was a Muslim...

Does anyone even think about fighting off cancer and heart disease with multivitamins?! I take them for better overall health, for better skin, to help with fitness etc.

 

[Cassin]

I attented a lecture yesterday on "The Aging Brain" and they discussed this topic.

Basically the only supplements that seem to be useful are Omega 3 Fish oil and to a much lighter degree Ginko but Ginko is barely a speck on the radar.

 

[wstef]

I attented a lecture yesterday on "The Aging Brain" and they discussed this topic.

Basically the only supplements that seem to be useful are Omega 3 Fish oil and to a much lighter degree Ginko but Ginko is barely a speck on the radar.

I assume this is just in relation to the brain, though?

What about the rest of the body?

I think vitamin supplements are problematic simply because they're all crushed into the same tablet; some vitamins and minerals interfere with others being absorbed.

 

[Cassin]

I attented a lecture yesterday on "The Aging Brain" and they discussed this topic.

Basically the only supplements that seem to be useful are Omega 3 Fish oil and to a much lighter degree Ginko but Ginko is barely a speck on the radar.

I assume this is just in relation to the brain, though?

What about the rest of the body?

Yes just the brain.

 

[Jacob]

I can't imagine those are the only things they'd say work/help. There's Magnesium L-Threonate..etc etc.

 

[Cassin]

I can't imagine those are the only things they'd say work/help. There's Magnesium L-Threonate..etc etc.

These were involved in longitudinal studies so there is that context to consider.

 

[wstef]

I am to believe that the body has a hard time absorbing a lot of the vitamins in multivitamin tablets.

It's the same with fruit and veg, though. For example, vegetarians need twice as much zinc as meat-eaters, simply because the body finds it harder to absorb it from plant sources.

They definitely, as their name suggests, supplement us but they're not good enough for replacements... I wonder what the bioavailability of the supplements are? I doubt the "100% recommended daily allowance" is fully absorbed.

What I've never got about humans is that we seem to need a varied diets, whereas other, bigger, stronger and more dominant animals can eat just one food type and be absolutely fine and healthy.

 

[CCS]

What I've never got about humans is that we seem to need a varied diets, whereas other, bigger, stronger and more dominant animals can eat just one food type and be absolutely fine and healthy.

We live a lot longer than tigers and vultures, especially now with our varied diets.

I think the body is very adaptive. If you take a lot of a supplement, it just gets used to it. What matters is that you get enough of everything so your body can make something of it. I think megadoses just lead to dependency. If you spend enough money on food, you can easily get 4-5X the RDA of all vitamins in a 2000 calory diet. No supplements needed.

If a multivitamin is so good, you would notice just as big a difference when you first start it as you do when you stop it. The fact you only notice it when you stop says it is just dependency. Most multivitamins do not have natural vitamin E, but instead have an isomer of it.

You can get tons of vitamin C from strawberries and kiwi. Oranges have less, but still plenty.

I recommend taking fish oil and vitamin D3 and K2, and B12, and maybe also the good isomer of vitamin E. All of these are very lacking if not absent in most multivitamins. K2 is not in multivitamins. B12 and biotin are very low.