Do vitamin supplements work?

hoodwinked · 21-08-2013 08:51AM

biko wrote: »

A varied diet is all you need really.

McTigs wrote: »

A good balanced diet should negate the need for supplements.
.

thats all well and good for some cases but i don't like fish, i don't eat any kind of fish, so i take omega 3 supplements instead,

occasionally my iron levels tend to drop (i notice i am tired all the time and sleep quite a bit) but instead of taking supplements ill eat more fortified cereal instead, and have things like brocolli with my dinner and usually that works,

i take vit D as i feel i just don't get as much as i need with the irish sunshine, plus i am indoors often.

Wibbs · 21-08-2013 08:54AM

biko wrote: »

A varied diet is all you need really.

Yea B but very few people have such a thing. I'd take vit D, because I certainly don't get near enough sun exposure to generate it naturally(few do).

Padkir · 21-08-2013 08:55AM

pauliebdub wrote: »

They seem to work for me, multivitimins that is. I find that my immune system is a lot stronger and i'm not picking up any colds.

Yes, would agree with that. Have big exams coming up soon and have been on the berocca for the last month to try and ensure I don't get sick leading up to them, and it seems to be working.

Once exams are over, I'll be off it though, don't want my body to be dependent on supplements.

tigger123 · 21-08-2013 08:56AM

Am on a phone so can't link properly, but Google "Killing Us Softly", its the name of a report on what multivitamins do to your body, and its pretty scary stuff. Was released about 6 months ago. I was taking vitamins everyday until I read about the reports content.

SweetPotatoes · 21-08-2013 09:06AM

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Or are they all scams and its all in the mind?

And if they are all fake how do Seven Seas etc get away with it?

The sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts (Dr. T. Colin Campbell, PhD). In other words vitamins seperated are nowhere as effective as eating them in their whole form such as in fruit and vegetables. The dynamics of nature.

The vitamin industry is generally a fake. :pac:

Wibbs · 21-08-2013 09:09AM

Oh I'd defo not chuck back large quantities that some seem to. Some vitamins can be very toxic in high doses and some can be bad for your health at low enough levels. EG smokers should avoid beta carotene supplements like the plague as they had to call a halt to a study on it when they noticed a dangerous increase in lung tumours in the subjects taking it. Interestingly smokers on a diet high in BC showed a protective effect. That's the problem with being too reductive in research(very common). In this case clearly the BC on it's own wasn't protective, quite the opposite. It seems it's all the other chemicals found in foods rich in it that have a cumulative effect. I'd suspect others like vit C to be similar. With something like fish oil you'd be getting more of these co factor chemicals as it's not reduced to one component part. Still, eating the whole fish is going to be better for you.

With supplements there's also the large placebo effect going on with people. I'd add some cases of food sensitivity to that too.

Shenshen · 21-08-2013 09:15AM

I've never taken any, to be honest.

But I did notice that they do seem to be very big business in Ireland, the US and the UK.

SweepTheLeg · 21-08-2013 09:18AM

I just take a general multi vitamin and fish oil tablets in the morning. My diet is pretty crappy so I think they help.

Keith300 · 21-08-2013 09:29AM

tigger123 wrote: »

Am on a phone so can't link properly, but Google "Killing Us Softly", its the name of a report on what multivitamins do to your body, and its pretty scary stuff. Was released about 6 months ago. I was taking vitamins everyday until I read about the reports content.

Am on??

Terry1985 · 21-08-2013 09:31AM

The daily recommended intake of vitamins takes the minimalist approach of only recommending the least amount required to avoid a deficiency on that vitamin.

So some vitamins could be beneficial in larger doses. But as Sheldon said in the Big Bang Theory, those vitamin supplements might just be the ingredients of expensive urine.

martinedwards · 21-08-2013 09:33AM

I have back problems and Cod liver oil helps, so I take that.

adocholiday · 21-08-2013 10:07AM

tigger123 wrote: »

Am on a phone so can't link properly, but Google "Killing Us Softly", its the name of a report on what multivitamins do to your body, and its pretty scary stuff. Was released about 6 months ago. I was taking vitamins everyday until I read about the reports content.

The author of this report was on the radio a few weeks ago (can't remember the show) and to be honest I would take what he says with a very large pinch of salt. He came across like a tin-foil hat wearer and when challenged, he couldn't back up a lot of the stuff he was saying and back-tracked on a lot of stuff.

Like anything else that is formulated in a lab, vitamin supplements can't replace the real thing obtained through food. The downside to this is by the time we actually get our food from when it was taken from the ground or killed, much of the nutrients are gone or diminished. Factor in the cooking process, especially with vegetables, and the nutritional value of the food is a fraction of what it is in its fresh, raw form. Steamed veg is great, and frozen veg can actually be more nutritionally valuable than 'fresh' veg from the supermarket.

I take a multi-vitamin every second or third day and a whey protein supplement after my gym workout. My diet is what you might call a 'clean' diet. I generally stick to whole, unprocessed foods. I eat brown/wholegrain alternatives to white when it comes to grains (e.g. rice/pasta). Eliminate processed refined carbs (sugar). Keep carb intake low and fibre intake high - half the portion of rice, double the portion of steamed green veg.

I am in very good health, never sick and have lots of energy. Use supplements as they are meant to be used - as a supplement to a good diet, not a replacement

Genghiz Cohen · 21-08-2013 10:16AM

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/snake-oil-supplements/

Wibbs · 21-08-2013 10:18AM

adocholiday wrote: »

Factor in the cooking process, especially with vegetables, and the nutritional value of the food is a fraction of what it is in its fresh, raw form.

Not really. Lots of dubious science behind that claim. Yes bioling veggies for hours and throwing away the soup left over is daft, but... Minerals are unaffected by cooking, unless you're cooking in a blast furnace. Even then what would be left would be the minerals. Vitamins? Most vitamins aren't destroyed by the temps involved in cooking. Even vit C is only reduced, not eliminated. Plus other vitamins are made more bioavailable by cooking, eg lycopene, niacin in corn and a few others. Carbs are made far more bioavailable by cooking. Yes cooking can disrupt enzymes in food, but there enzymes humans don't use in digestion. Cooking food was one of the biggest "killer apps" in human evolution. It externalised some of our digestion process, made far more foods digestable and the nutrients in them more bioavailable. It allowed us to go from a bipedal scavenger to walking on the moon.

Like I say going by actual evidence raw is not always better, in fact cooked is better most of the time. It's up there with some of the nonsense attached to the so called Paleo diet. Don't get me started on that BS.

adam88 · 21-08-2013 10:23AM

I used to take centrum carry on in the morning but I used be wrecked come the evening. Now I take it late in the evening and I don't really get the 3 o clock slump ( note I used get this slump with out the vits as well)

I usually get a bad dose of cold sore and mouth ulcers every 2 to 3 months. Dr used to say it was because I was lacking in vitamins etc. never believed them. I'm now in them nearly a month and I had an outbreak of ulcers couple of days ago. Surprisingly they never really came to a head only seemed to linger there. So they definitely do something with regard to ulcers note I also take lysine

kylith · 21-08-2013 10:28AM

My general health has never been so bad as it was when I was taking a multivitamin; sniffles and feeling generally run down. I stopped taking them completely when I nearly choked on one of the capsules. Who the hells thought it'd be a good idea to make them so big?

adocholiday · 21-08-2013 12:25PM

Wibbs wrote: »

Like I say going by actual evidence raw is not always better, in fact cooked is better most of the time. It's up there with some of the nonsense attached to the so called Paleo diet. Don't get me started on that BS.

Ok fair enough, I'm not very up to speed on the research around this stuff so apologies if my post was misleading. It's true that the water soluble vitamins and minerals do move from the veg to the water though, so if you're boiling broccoli for instance and you throw out the water then you are losing some nutrients that you would otherwise save. And I am in no way advocating a raw food/paeleo diet. I enjoy a boiled spud and nicely cooked steak as much as the next man

I cook most of my food.

Apologies if this is now moving OT

IvaBigWun · 21-08-2013 03:39PM

Shenshen wrote: »

I've never taken any, to be honest.

But I did notice that they do seem to be very big business in Ireland, the US and the UK.

A business that needs lots more regulating.

SEPT 23 1989 · 21-08-2013 03:55PM

1000mg of Vitamin C a day keeps the doctor away

donegal_road · 21-08-2013 04:06PM

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

1000mg of Vitamin C a day keeps the doctor away

I take 1000mg of C most days. If you are in the early stages of cold or flu, take 6 x 1000mg C and it will kill it.

I also take Milk Thistle every day, and Omega 3.

Herbal tinctures are also very potent. I have taken Cleavers tincture before for glandular swelling and it worked really well.

Also, Hyssop tincture is great for any respiratory ailments or conditions.

You can buy them at any registered herbalists.

21-08-2013 04:08PM

Freddy Smelly wrote: »

omega 3 actually increases the risk of prostate cancer in men

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/omega-3-fatty-acids-linked-to-increase-in-prostate-cancer-risk

Luckily for me, I dont have balls then

or any male parts

bleg · 21-08-2013 04:22PM

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/07/the-vitamin-myth-why-we-think-we-need-supplements/277947/

kowloon · 21-08-2013 04:47PM

donegal_road wrote: »

I take 1000mg of C most days. If you are in the early stages of cold or flu, take 6 x 1000mg C and it will kill it.

Saw a documentary that had a bit about the whole vitamin C and colds thing. Apparently it won't stop you catching a cold/flu at all so there's no point in taking it as a preventative measure but it will help you once you've caught it.

Jimoslimos · 21-08-2013 05:36PM

donegal_road wrote: »

I take 1000mg of C most days. If you are in the early stages of cold or flu, take 6 x 1000mg C and it will kill it.

Bullsh1t, I blame Linus Pauling for that myth.

Pug160 · 21-08-2013 06:13PM

Hard to say. But remember that they're not all made equal. Some are probably better absorbed by our bodies than others. Do some research on what to read on the back of the labels. I think they're good as a safety net but you should still eat a varied and healthy diet.

Chareth Cutestory · 21-08-2013 06:35PM

My thinking would be that unless you have been experiencing symptoms of vitamin/mineral deficiency and have been tested for this then there really isn't any point in taking supplements. I don't think there's enough definitive evidence to suggest that they are a preventative measure for anything. Over the years I've tried many supplements; various multivitamins, fish oils etc. and can say I never noticed any improvement in my health, so now I just don't bother.

In saying that I do always load up on vitamin C and echinacea when I'm struck down with a cold, but I think that's just a practice I inherited from my mother

Wibbs · 21-08-2013 06:50PM

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

1000mg of Vitamin C a day keeps the doctor away

Canceling your VHI is far more effective for that...

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Bullsh1t, I blame Linus Pauling for that myth.

+1. Vit C does nada for colds, however a zinc supplement disolved on the tongue does actually make a diff.

On the zinc front I recall reading that some quacks were suggesting men take zinc supplements as they were depleting their stores every time they had an orgasm as semen is very high in zinc*. One scientists take was :how many girlfriends does this guy have lined up on a daily basis that his zinc depletes? Forget zinc tablets, build him a statue for he is a god"

* You might suggest to your Gf that she may be zinc deficient. Best of luck lads.

Turtwig · 21-08-2013 07:21PM

The rule with supplements is you do not take them unless you have to. Unless you're on medication or have a health a condition that makes it difficult to absorb or produce certain nutrients you don't take supplements. Diet first. Supplements last. The reason being is that there's probably more stuff in the food that's good for and it's very likely the combination of ingredients rather than the individual that provides you with benefits.

donegal_road · 21-08-2013 07:23PM

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Bullsh1t, I blame Linus Pauling for that myth.

ok, but the tinctures work, the Cleavers one in particular was pretty amazing.

Paramite Pie · 21-08-2013 08:56PM

wendell borton wrote: »

Berocca makes my pee look radioactive, so in that respect yes it does.

Apparently that happens cause your just just peeing all those vitamins back out... tis called 'expensive piss' by health experts (actual term) and it means that your getting enough vitamins already from your diet. Multi-vitimins aren't easy for your body to absorb anyways. To absorb one vitamin, your body needs different vitamin just to get the first one. Foods are already pre-balanced in vitamins/minerals/fibres and sugars to allow your body to do that easily.

Do vitamin supplements work?

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