BioBeing

This was an interesting take on the vitamin question, I thought. No evidence that, for the average, healthy adult, taking vitamins is either healthy or harmful.

Taken from here.

Berthold

With a reasonable diet, extra intake of vitamins (and minerals) is usually not necessary. Just how sure can one be that diet is in the reasonable region, although this is probably much broader than many nutrition apostles would like to make us think?

Vicki

It's kind of like a "Pascal's Wager" on health.

I almost never take medications of any kind, including vitamins. I do eat a pretty well-balanced diet (I think).

My children were different, however. My sons both subsisted entirely on breast milk until they were 6 months old. Some whole grain cereals and vegetables were gradually added after that even though I nursed them until they were a year old.

The problems started when they were a little older. Kids can go through some very picky and stubborn stages with foods. Something they love one month, they will refuse the next. My sons had completely different preferences at different times.

For that reason, I used to give them a multi-vitamin twice a week.

My older son is 6'5" so I guess it didn't hurt!

Berthold

One month like a Buddhist monk, the other like a Cro Magnon hunter? Both won't hurt them.

Vicki

If you mean going from strictly vegetarian to carnivorous, then yes, sometimes!

The problem with one of them was an intense dislike of all fruits and many vegetables, so I was a little concerned about Vitamin C. Luckily, he got over it and eats almost anything now.

Schneibster

There are men who require abnormally high amounts of folic acid, and if they don't get it, can get heart disease. As a result, many cardiologists now prescribe 400 mcg of folic acid, a member of the vitamin B complex, to men with heart disease.

We know that we don't always have good dietary habits; and we know that deficiency diseases can result; and we know that some of us suffer from abnormally large requirements for certain vitamins. Why take a chance? Cheap insurance.

Berthold

Beware of quacks, though. Trace elements are a related topic. There were, some years ago, preparations of germanium for sale. Actually, germanium is nonessential and even slightly toxic.

repoman

hmmm,

Well I think that as well as having a good diet, having good social habits, adequate exercise and a positive outlook etc... can in general be more important than taking excessive indiscriminant supplements. These will have the body use everything it has, and release "good" chemicals and restrict "bad" chemicals. I don't want to get into the details, we all know about this anyway.

I think that TARGETED use of supplements to assist an already improved diet can be helpful. I kind of follow the Zone diet - though the sugar monkey is hard to kick. Through the control of oils, carbs and protein you can somewhat influence MAJOR hormones systems such as Insulin, Glucagon and Cortisol. Also you can control prostaglandins with can be inflammatory or anti-imflammatory - which is why omega 3s are important. Omega 3s also are part of brain cell membranes as well.

But, I would define omega-3s as a macronutrient not as supplement. Because historically we ate land animals that ate grass not corn or soybeans. Even eggs used to have more omega3s. So buying flax/fish oil pills is just putting back what our agricultural system has taken out. What other nutrients it has taken out?

I wonder about some of the geniuses of history and what they ate. I would love to get into the pantries of Archimedes, Euler or Einstein. But I am gonna guess they didn't eat lots of refined sugars or soybean oils.


I was gonna go through substances one by one, but running out of time.
I can list a few that I think are good, selenium, NAC, magnesium, zinc, Bs, gamma tocopherol (in walnuts), lutein (spinach), Lycopene (tomato). In fact the last three are more economical through the food rather than the supplement. Selenium can't be controlled in food, so a supplement is good IMO. Not sure about magnesium or zinc.

MadPhatCat

Average, healthy adult. Well if you aren't an average healthy adult, whatever that means, it isn't a big deal to spend a 5 cents a day (or less) on a generic multivitamin.

kaelcarp

I always find it fascinating that we can figure out information about particles smaller than atoms, put people in space, and program semi-intelligent machines, yet we can't figure out what we should be eating.