Get nutrients from food, not vitamins

[TechBear_Seattle]

Get nutrients from food, not vitamins

The largest study ever of multivitamin use in older women found that the pills did nothing to prevent common cancers or heart disease.

The eight-year study in 161,808 postmenopausal women echoes recent disappointing vitamin studies in men.

Millions of Americans spend billions of dollars on vitamins to boost their health. Research has focused on cancer and heart disease in particular because of evidence that diets full of vitamin-rich foods may protect against those illnesses. But that evidence doesn't necessarily mean pills are a good substitute.

The study's lead author, researcher Marian Neuhouser of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, offered this advice: "Get nutrients from food. Whole foods are better than dietary supplements," Neuhouser said.

The study appears in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.

The article continues at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/399385_vitamins10.html

[cosmik debris]

1. I wonder how this applies to vitamin D

We have seen a recent influx of people claiming that they need thousands of units of vitamin D supplements every day.

Are they wasting their money?

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. It looks like this study focused on cancer and heart disease

After about eight years, roughly equal numbers of vitamin users and nonusers developed common cancers, heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems. Overall, there were 9,619 cases of cancer, including cancers of the breast, lung, ovary, colon and stomach; and 8,751 cardiovascular ailments including heart attacks and strokes. In addition, 9,865 women died, also at similar rates in multivitamin users and nonusers.

I don't know if the study looked at specific vitamins. I do know that Neuhouser's advice echoes what my doctor has been telling me for years: no suppliments can substitute for a healthy, varied diet and, as far as possible, get my nutrition from food. He did direct me to add a vitamin D suppliment when I tested low, but only during the cold and dark of October through March; the rest of the year, he prescribed "sunlight therapy," ie spend more time outside.

[cosmik debris]

3. A recent poster quoted an article saying:

"Already, vitamin D deficiency is associated with muscle strength decrease, high risk for falls, and increased risk for colorectal, prostate and breast and other major cancers." (my emphasis)

This study may contradict that statement.

[MrsBrady]

4. most commercial brands of vitamins are crap

and are not really digestible or don't have in it what they say they have.

it depends on what brand you use.
I use an organic brand of vitamins from Texas that actually know what they are doing. And they don't source from China.

Who paid for this study? I'm skeptical.

I eat plenty of good foods.
I cannot get rid of this skin "thing" I have unless I take my A and E. If i take my vit, I don't have my skin problem.

[customerserviceguy]

5. I take fish oil capsules

I don't think I could eat that much fish! At least my lady wouldn't want me cooking anywhere near that much in our house!

[elocs]

6. I always hear how people can get everything they need from a well balanced diet.

How many Americans actually eat a well balanced diet? :rofl:

[TechBear_Seattle]

9. That is a different issue altogether n/t

[bunnies]

7. Or buy better vitamins.

Synthetic (drug store type) vitamins are an absolutely useless waste of money. Whereas whole food vitamins offer actual nutrition.

[uppityperson]

13. In order to be "natural", only a small % must be natural, remainder is same as synthetic(drug store)

I don't know what "whole food vitamins" means, but those sold as "natural" need only contain a small % of natural.

[nichomachus]

8. Michael Pollan has been saying this right along

He calls our current "get everything in a pill" fad "nutritionalism." His advice

Eat Food
Eat less
Eat more plants.

Also, he says that anything in the supermarket that claims to be good for you, probably isn't.

[HamdenRice]

10. I was going to cite this also: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

Sometimes in interviews, modified as "Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants."

Eat from the outer aisles of the supermarket (veggies, fresh meat, fresh dairy) not from the inner aisles (boxes, cans, processed).

Note that the study does not say vitamins are not important, and doesn't say that processed food and McJunk are just as good as "whole food."

[Dorian Gray]

11. I do use supplements

most of them recommended to me by my various doctors. (Prenatal, Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Omega 3, and Probiotics.)

I also eat a well balanced diet, but I figure I have the money to buy the supplements, so I may as well take them. (I did have a Vit D deficiency and I'm very fair with freckles, so I don't like to go out in the sun without protection.)

I don't consider any of these vitamins to protect me from cancer, though. I just took them to make sure that I am getting the nutrients that my body needs. But they are NOT a substitute for a healthy, well balanced diet!

[astral]

12. We can no longer get all the vitamins and minerals

from the foods we eat because the soils are depleted and if it's not in the soil it can not be absorbed into the plant. Vitamin/mineral supplements aren't meant to SUBSTITUTE for good healthy raw simple food eating, though.

Organic is better, but I think there is organic food grown in depleted soil too, not real sure about that.

There are some things that most of us are depleted in. Vitamin D, iodine, magnesium, to name a few examples.

So there is a balance there. And of course people will wildly differ on what's right and wrong on this topic. I get pretty confused myself about it.

I am sold on mineral supplementation, though, and try to add the vitamins D-3 and iodine, as of late. If I lived where there was plenty of sunshine I may not think I need the vitamin D-3.

[wuvuj]

14. A rebuttal?

http://www.lef.org/featured-articles/Rebuttal-to-Recent-Attacks-Against-Dietary-Supplements.htm

[trotsky]

15. Brought to you by...

a bigtime supplement distributor! Booyah!

[wuvuj]

16. Do I care whether you take vitamins?

The answer would be no. At least you have a choice.

[nickinSTL]

17. well...I do take a vitamin, but...

I consider it a supplement, in addition to what I eat. And I TRY to eat healthy.

I also take fish oil - which I think has done a great job of bringing down my triglycerides.