Are vitamin supplements really necessary?

Question

My brother in law sells Amway vitamins and has become totally obsessed (brainwashed if you ask me) with the whole vitamin fad. I eat really well so I feel I don't need to take vitamin supplements. When I do, I end up peeing them out and therefore I must be getting my daily nutients in what I eat. He says that even though I eat well I still need to take supplements. I don't agree. Also, he went on about natural vs. synthetic vitamins. Really, even natural vitamins have been processed!! What's the scoop on all the vitamin hoopla anyway???

Answer 1

It depends what you mean by "necessary". Will you drop dead tomorrow if you don't supplement? Probably not. Will you live as long and healthy a life as you could without supplements? Probably not! There's an increasing body of research that in the modern world, stress and polution have caused our nutrient requirements to go up, but at the same time modern farming methods and dietry habits have caused the levels of nutrients in food to go down. I have research from around the world showing nutrient drops of up to 97% in various fruit and vegetables over the last 40 years. In addition our diets have typically developed large imbalances in the intakes of various essential fatty acids. Even JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), which has been anti-supplmentation for decades, finally recommended in 2002 that all adults should take a multi-vitamin. My advice is that virtually everyone needs to take at least a multivitamin and also omega-3 supplements (and decrease omega-6 in the diet).

Then the question arises - which supplement? Most supplements are synthetic, for example, one of the more active components of vitamin c complex is ascorbic acid. It's then molecularly synthesised in a laboratory and put in to a tablet and labeled Vitamin C. If you're severly deficient in Vitamin C it will help, but is it as good as say an organically grown acerola cherry? No. The real food, if grown in a nutrient rich way, includes a large number of other factors apart from ascorbic acid. Often these "phytonutrients" work together in the body and is generally absorbed better. Some research indicates that natural vitamin C for example is some 80 times better absorbed than synthetic absorbic acid. Common forms of synthetic vitamin A and vitamin E have even been shown to be dangerous - whereas the natural versions are healthy.

Which is where Amway comes in. In the 1970's they bought a company called Nutrilite (Nutriway in some parts of the world) that organically grows high nutrient concentrated plants, takes out the water and fibre, and then puts the resultant powder in a tablet. No other company in the world does this. The tablets thus have all these additional phytonutrients and are generally more bioavailable (ie the body can use them better).

The other great thing about Amway is you can try their vitamins for 3 months, and if you don't think they make you feel any better, give 'em the empty bottles and they'll give you all your money back.

Answer 2

Overall the reason why vitamins where created was because americans dont get all the necessary requirements fullfilled with food alone. My rule of thumb is that you should take a multivitamin daily, have a checkup annually, and let a doctor tell you if your lacking. Eat healthy, exercise regularly, drink plenty of water, get enough sleep. you'll be alright

Answer 3

If you eat right then you dont need vitamins.

Answer 4

Yes, they fill the holes in your nutrition.

Answer 5

i dont know ,but if you eat good no need