I know for years doctors have said your vitamins should come from your food, not a pill. And recently a study came out basically saying the exact same thing (sorry, I don’t have a link to the study). But my question is, is there any benefit to taking vitamin pills? I know my diet usu. isn’t all that healthy. And there isn’t much I can do about that at the present point. So I take a multi-vitamin, mineral supplement, because I figure it is the least I can do. My father takes one too. Also, to put my question another way: is it better to take a vitamin pill, than to not take anything at all when your diet isn’t that good?
I take USANA vitamins. It seems there are two kinds of studies out there. The ones funded by the vitamin companies say that vitamins will benefit you. The ones funded by other companies say that vitamins are useless if not harmful.
Well, it might be of use for some people, not so much for others.
For example, my 92-year-old grandmother eats a diet consisting mostly of shortbread biscuits, tea with condensed milk, boiled eggs and chocolate. I think a multi-vitamin is probably a good idea for her. Likewise, my sister’s housemate has some sort of food phobia and eats only (and I mean only) cheese, white bread and boiled potatoes. He probably needs a vitamin too!
Women of child-bearing age or potential should be taking folic acid and iron (because many are anaemic and folic acid prevents birth defects).
The elderly and those with chronic illness might not be getting what they need from their diet and could probably benefit from a vitamin pill.
Alcoholics routinely require thiamine and vitamin C.
Small children may be faddy eaters and might be more willing to take a Flintstone chewable pill than to eat a plate of vegetables.
However, generally, if you are young, fit healthy and eating a diet that is rich and varied then no, it’s probably not going to do much for you.
I eat a diet that is rich and varied, but I do restrict many carbohydrates. I don’t eat flour of any kind, which is the source of a lot of B vitamins. I use Fitday, which is an online food analyzer that calculates vitamins based on your RDA. In an unsupplemented diet I have trouble getting enough calcium and magnesium, and I’m sometimes light in thiamine, vitamin D, and niacin, so I take daily supplements of a multi-vitamin and a multi-mineral. I figure I’ll use the stuff I need, and use the rest to give my urine a nice color.
I buy the cheap multis at Costco, You know, the ones that say “Compares to”. I think anyone spending more than a few cents per day for supplements is probably being taken.
I consider myself fit and moderately healthy, although it has been some time since I could be called young, or middle aged for that matter.
I’d be interested in seeing such studies. Either way you get some nutrients from eating something. In principle a balanced diet provides most of everything required, so a vitamin supplement may be at worst redundant.
The only thing I can offer to this thread is my personal experience. I am in my late thirties and in mediocre shape (I work too much), but I do eat well (no junk food, varied diet, lots of fruits and vegtables). My only vice is that I probably drink too much (2-3 glasses of wine/day). Anyway, several years ago I was diagnosed with rosacea. I went to a dermatologist and tried numerous treatments including antibiotics (both topical and injested). Nothing touched it. I struggled to control it for ~2 years with very limited success. About this time I began to worry about vitamin D due to some articles I read showing correlations between low D levels and immune problems. I spend most of my time working in a dark lab and spend way too little time in the sun. I started taking a multivitamin and not only did the rosacea completely disappear (never to return) but I felt like my energy level increased by 100%. I don’t know if it was just the increase in D, or if I had other deficiencies, but I am a believer in taking multivitamins.
Again, I am not nor have I ever been like irishgirl’s friends: I have always had a healthy and varied diet with lots of fruits and vegtables.
There is almost no question for which “it depends” is not a good start to a reply, and this is yet another one such. It depends on the nature of the unhealthiness of your diet. If it’s too much fat, sugar and salt (ie the typical Western Diet) then no, vitamins are not going to help you. If you are genuinely short of a vitamin or mineral then of course it can help, assuming it is presented to your body in a usable form.
Taking multi-vitamins is a shotgun approach; if you happen to have some specific deficiency they can help, but aside from the one or two ingredients that address that deficiency the rest get pissed down the toilet. A far better approach would be to confirm that deficiency and address it specifically in diet, or failing that with a specific supplement.
As an example my partner was diagnosed with anemia recently. Until she could get to a doctor I put her on an iron supplement and eating red meat once a day; turns out the doctor agreed with my approach and she’s still on that (and starting to feel better).
