Vitamin and Supplement Hype

Michael Brickey, Ph.D.

Magazines are full of articles such as, folic acid (Vitamin E, Beta Carotene, etc.) prevents.... This is presented as if it were news. The articles imply we should run out and buy the supplements. Such articles are especially common in magazines that advertise vitamins and supplements. Every month they seem to find or recycle a couple more vitamins and supplements.

What’s wrong? If you were to take all of the vitamins and supplements they recommend in a piecemeal fashion you would be heavily taxing your liver and your wallet. Many of these vitamins and supplements are included in a multiple vitamin and taking both may be taking too much. Many vitamins and supplements can cause serious health problems if taken in extreme amounts.

The articles give little consideration to how the vitamin or supplement interacts with other vitamins and supplements, e.g., high doses of Vitamin C can inhibit the absorption of B-12, calcium needs vitamin D. Supplements such as Gingko Biloba and aspirin thin the blood, which may or may not be desirable and certainly needs to be considered if you are going to have surgery.

The research often isn’t realistic. No one questions that we need folic acid. But the research should have large numbers of people in an experimental and placebo groups and a treatment program that lasts several years. The control group should take a good daily multiple vitamin with the amount of folic acid that multiple vitamins usually contain. The treatment group would take the same multiple vitamin plus additional folic acid. Results should show a statistically and clinically significant effect. Research should also control for socioeconomic factors (people who normally take vitamins tend to be better educated, more affluent, eat more healthily, and exercise more). Rarely do popular press articles meet these criteria.

As consumers we need to eat healthy foods and take a good multiple vitamin as an insurance policy against whatever our diet misses. Then ask what special needs you have that call for additional supplements, e.g., men taking saw palmetto to help prevent prostate cancer, people with a risk of heart disease taking daily low dose aspirin, women who have problems with urinary tract infections drinking cranberry juice or using cranberry extract. Overdoing supplements and piecemeal use of supplements may cause more problems than they help.

Most people get enough iron from their food and don’t need iron in their vitamins. Iron in particular can contribute to free radical damage. People who may need iron in vitamins or supplements include: children, women who menstruate, people who donate blood, and people who are anemic.

On the lighter side, there is the story about two cows that saw a milk tank truck drive by. In large bold letters it said, Pasteurized, Homogenized, Vitamin A added. One cow turned to the other and said, “makes you feel sort of inadequate, doesn’t it?”

The bottom line is to take a good daily multiple vitamin geared to your age and gender. Then consider if there are any other supplements you need beyond what your multiple vitamin is providing. Only take those that fit with your plan. Largely ignore the endless piecemeal articles on miraculous vitamins and supplements.




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This article may be reprinted in E-zines, newsletters, newspapers, and magazines provided they the content is not edited and the following attribution is given:

Dr. Michael Brickey is President of the Ageless Lifestyles Institute and author of Defy Aging. His new book, 52 baby steps to Grow Young, gives two-page-a-week practical steps for developing a youthful mindset at every age. Further information is at www.DrBrickey.com.