Do you take vitamins?

[robynebr]

Ooh... first post outta the gate and I hit enter too soon! This sounds promising. :)

I read many skeptic blogs (skepchick, science blogs, etc.) and I've seen this argument made a few times. When dissecting the spread of 'woo' health advice in the 'net, someone eventually asks 'well, do you take vitamins? Because they're not proven." Or something along the lines.

As a skeptic, what is your criteria for health supplements? Avoid all? Keep your mind open to non-government-sanctioned research? Are studies done in other countries acceptible, even if your home country doesn't sign off on a vitamin or supplement?

Also - hi! New here, obviously. I'm shying away from Livejournal these days, but am having trouble finding enough activity on dreamwidth to hold my interest. I wonder if this site is going to take off? (oops, two questions in one - is that allowed? :-P)

Comments

[ex_faster142]

Supplements, hm. I honestly don't know enough about vitamins either way, I've mostly just never bothered with them because I didn't think I particularly needed to.

I am pretty sceptical about most "omg take this and it makes you healthy!" recommendations, though, which comes from being chronically ill and having tried out way too much snake oil because others around me insisted I give it a try. At this point I am not really willing to consider new treatments unless there's some really good, reliable, properly-carried-out research backing it up. I'd probably be willing to consider research carried out overseas, yes, if I seemed like good research (ie, not a study with only five people taking part, not something where the results could be due to several factors, etc).

I do take iron supplements, but... that's because my doctor suggested it, and it seemed a fairly reasonable response to me having mild iron-deficiency anaemia.

And I'm sure it's fine to ask as many questions as you like. :) but as for Dreamwidth, all I can say is that I hope it does take off because I really like the features and community so far.

[robynebr]

My doctor surprised me once by recommending St. Johns Wort for mild depression. She acknowledged that it wasn't recognized in the US and couldn't prescribe it, but apparently had seen enough research on it to convince her. But I've seen far more articles that write it off as useless herbs. I have some friends that have been taken in by every fad to run across the board (remember blue-green algae pills? They still take those, I think.) I'm much more skeptical about things, but there's enough arguments on both sides of vitamins, and some herbs, that it's hard to know what's going on.

Thanks. I'm hoping to explore DW a little more and see how the community is shaping up. So far so good.

[paper_hand]

Well, vitamins themselves are certainly beneficial, although many multivitamins are packed with far more than your body can use, meaning that you're basically paying for expensive urine, and most of the time, if you have a balanced diet, you should be getting enough vitamins anyways. If your diet is unbalanced or you have a condition that prevents proper absorption of nutrients, then vitamins can be useful. But, for most people, from what I understand, they are largely unnecessary.

Other supplements, I tend to be wary of, since they're often not tested.

As for DW, I think it's just a matter of time. DW's still on an invite-only basis, so that's slowing down growth. But I hope it will take off, it just may take a year or two to do so. I certainly intend to stay here.

[robynebr]

Thanks. I agree that a good balanced diet should be enough for most people (unless they are deficient in something particular, or under particular stress). But when I start talking to doctors and others about specific ones, it gets as confusing, and as unbelievable at times, as talking about herbs or supplements.

What I'm also wary of, though, is allowing my belief and/or skepticism be skewed too much by my country (US). Just because the FDA doesn't get behind something, does that mean it's useless? As mentioned in my other comment. St. Johns Wort is decried here, but well researched and accepted in other countries. I also understand that chiropractic care is either accepted or written off as pointless depending on country.

Anyway, it's all academic. I take minimal vitamins just to cover my bases (because I don't eat as well as I should).

[silly_llama]

What I have heard about vitamins is that we get all that we need from a healthy diet. So, unless you are diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency it is not vital for you to take a supplement. There are a few exceptions though. For example if you have an indoor job and do not drink much milk you might want to take a vitamin D supplement. Another example is that a pregnant woman should take folic acid.

One issue that crops up is that a person can easily overdose on certain vitamins. From what I have read, vitamin A is a common one to overdose on. This is especially true if you follow mega-dose schemes.

I personally do not take vitamins because I go outside, drink milk, am not a pregnant woman, and I do not have a lot of extra money to spend on vitamins.