As recently reported in the New York Times, “the news for vitamins keeps getting worse.” What is abundantly clear is that there is an awful lot we still don’t understand about the human condition, in particular how vitamins, minerals, and other micronutirents are utilized. It certainly is seductive to all of us that simple supplements should be effective in meeting our nutritional needs. There is tremendous appeal in the marketing of the vitamin supplement industry that we can be helped by the plethora of products. Our collective appetite for easy solutions provided by just a pill is insatiable. One needs to remember that there is little to no regulation for the supplement business to assure consumers of product safety, purity, or performance. So whether it is fear of death, cancer, weight loss, or sexual performance, these vendors prey on our insecurities.
Beyond skillful and targeted advertising, there has been an onslaught this year of sound scientific evidence that we understand very little about the performance of vitamin and mineral supplementation. The complexity of our own metabolism and its deficiencies continues to confound research. Studies hoping to find benefit in supplementing Vitamins A, C, E, as well as selenium and certain antioxidants to help combat problems as common and diverse as heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and cancer have failed to find any benefit. Other conditions such as amyotrophic lateralizing sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease), multiple sclerosis, depression, and bipolar disorder have also shown no benefit from vitamin/mineral supplements. Numerous claims by other products frequently touted as enhancement for athletic or sexual performance are equally worthless. The use of Vitamin C, Zinc, Echinacea or other products for the prevention or control of cold symptoms have been equally unsuccessful in proving their merit under careful scientific scrutiny.
There are very few specific situations when targeted supplements deserve merit. Folic acid for pregnant women, calcium and Vitamin D for bone strength in both older women and men are some notable ones. A lot of new research is available about the role of Vitamin D deficiency correlating with a number of varied conditions. However there is no evidence regarding cause and effect. We know less than ever about what is a normal daily requirement for Vitamin D and much less how much and when to supplement. It will be years before we can adequately understand what is appropriate.
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