# Mary Frost, vitamins, and lies

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-frost-vitamins-and-lies/228652>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 11, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-frost-vitamins-and-lies/228652 "2004-02-11T14:09:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-frost-vitamins-and-lies/228652/1 "2004-02-11T14:09:15Z")

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Does anyone know anything about the veracity of the claims made by Mary Frost, M.A. in her book/pamphlet _Going Back to the Basics of Human Health_?

While it certainly sounds reasonable that the vitamins, when taken from crystalline-pure refined, synthetic sources cannot be broken down or used effectively by the body, I have a hard time believing that the vitamin business is a total scam.

Anyone?

(and yes, I realize the underlying thrust of her writing is to sell Standard Process goods, but the information she’s using, including quotes extensively from _Empty Harvest_, are disturbing.)

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**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-frost-vitamins-and-lies/228652/2 "2004-02-11T14:40:58Z")

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I don’t think all vitamins act the same in this regard. That is, some won’t work as well as pure chemicals as they do as components of food while with others it will make no difference. I don’t think there’s a case for saying they won’t work _at all_.

Anyhoo- most vitamin supplements come as ‘complexes’ or somesuch, the vitamin C tablets I have are not ‘pure’ vitamin C, the pills also have ‘helper’ compounds that you’d find associated with the vitamin in a more natural source.

Mostly vitamins are not sold in their ‘crystalline-pure’ form so it’s not a point worth making.

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**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-frost-vitamins-and-lies/228652/3 "2004-02-11T15:01:11Z")

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I don’t know anything about Mary Frost, and I’m no vitamin expert, but I do know this…when an individual or small group of people claim to have new specialized knowledge on a subject that has been studied by untold thousands of researchers for decades, 99.99% their claims are false. Verifiable claims tend to get tested and approved by the mainstream.

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**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-frost-vitamins-and-lies/228652/4 "2004-02-11T15:03:04Z")

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> [@Gary T](#):
>
> 99.99% their claims are false.

Uh, make that 99.99% **of the time** their claims are false.

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**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-frost-vitamins-and-lies/228652/5 "2004-02-11T15:30:54Z")

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> [@thinksnow](#):
>
> While it certainly sounds reasonable that the vitamins, when taken from crystalline-pure refined, synthetic sources cannot be broken down or used effectively by the body

Not to me, it doesn’t. Interestingly, the QuackWatch section [Twenty-Five Ways to Spot Quacks and Vitamin Pushers](http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/spotquack.html) mentions “13. They Claim That “Natural” Vitamins are Better than “Synthetic” Ones” and her book qualifies on many of the other points.