Re: Are vitamin supplements bad for you?



Cheryl P. wrote:
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:

How old was your biologist, and how long ago was that "once"? The myth that we get all the vitamins and trace nutrients we need from our food was debunked nearly fifty years ago! It may have been true at one time, when produce came fresh from people's own kitchen gardens. Nowadays, when half of it comes from thousands of miles away, and may be weeks in transit, that's definitely NOT true. (Fruits and vegetables begin to lose vitamin content as soon as they are picked, and continue to lose it rapidly, the longer they are exposed to light and air.) Yes, you CAN take too much of some supplements, but you have to really WORK at it - with most "overdoses", your body takes what it needs and eliminates the rest. (As one doctor friend commented, if you take more than your body requires "All it can do is give you very expensive urine".)

I think I get far more nutrients than the minimum required from my much-travelled food - especially considering my ancestors came from northern climates and survived quite nicely through the winters on stuff that was salted, pickled and sometimes stored in root cellars. Those processes *can't* have maintained much in the way of nutrients! The fresh fruit and vegetables I eat in winter (ie most of the year) probably don't have quite as many nutrients as they did when fresh (although frozen vegetables come very close) but they provide more than most of my ancestors needed or got.

I do take extra calcium and vitamin D on the recommendation of my doctor, but otherwise I have no inclination to pay the pharmaceutical companies for the privilege of producing expensive urine!

WHAT "pharmaceutical companies"??? Many of us who believe in vitamins get them from health food stores! (Or Trader Joe's, who sell comparable product for lower prices.) I have been a vitamin enthusiast ever since I ACTUALLY READ A BOOK about the benefits of supplements! (Several, in truth - starting with one by Linus Pauling.) I was in my mid twenties at the time, and even at that age was quickly aware of how much my health improved after I made supplements part of my daily routine. Call it "anecdotal evidence" if you will, but I'm now pushing eighty (78), and my only regular medication (aside from thyroid and hormone-replacement) is for blood pressure. I have never had a major illness, and seldom get colds or the flu (maybe once every five or six years - if that). Given the price of most prescription drugs (and some of the horrendous side-effects of which their TV advertising has made us aware) I'll continue to invest in my "expensive urine", since it seems also to have provided me with a lifetime of good health!
.

Relevant Pages

  • Why We Should Take Food Supplement
    ... nutrition goals recommended by many health authorities through diet ... nutrients science shows you need for optimal protection. ... to get 30IU of vitamin E, you will have to eat 124 slices of whole- ... There are whole-food supplement that delivers highly concentrated ...
    (sci.med.nutrition)
  • Re: Metformin and speed of action??
    ... It takes very little C to prevent deficiency disease. ... oil, Vitamin D etc etc. ... It is always my aim to promote good health by maximising the nutrients I ...
    (alt.support.diabetes)
  • Re: ADAs diabetes Superfoods
    ... Association Issues List of Diabetes Superfoods ... nutrients that are necessary for good diabetes management, ... nutrients included in these foods can promote good health and help ... clear research that points to the benefits of taking vitamin ...
    (alt.support.diabetes)
  • Re: Diet and Evolution
    ... The health food industry is also full of basic common sense. ... Vitamin C dependency. ... Without this critical vitamin animals die. ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)
  • Organic IS healthier, say food scientists
    ... As the debate rages on about whether organically grown food is better ... Scientists found that some organic food is more healthy after tests on ... significantly higher levels of vitamin C and polyphenols - compounds ... there is little scientific evidence of health benefits. ...
    (misc.health.alternative)
Loading