Vitamins As Valuable As Ever
Wednesday, September 17th, 2003I read an article by a prominent doctor in which he expressed his view that humans eating a normal diet don’t need dietary supplements. This angered me because it lulls ordinary folks into thinking they don’t need vitamins. After all, who among us think they eat an abnormal diet?
In reality, the entire civilized world eats an abnormal diet. We have been humans for 2 million years, but most of the basic cultivated, processed, preserved food we eat has only been around for several thousand years, and junk food has only gotten plentiful in the last few decades. A normal diet would be nothing but wild, raw vegetables, meats and berries. And yes, if you only ate that you certainly wouldn’t need any extra vitamins! What do modern people think a normal diet is? I’ve seen adults just eat a doughnut and coffee for “breakfast.” You can probably name lots more examples. But what I worry most about is what our children think. The food industry uses celebrities and popular cartoon characters to tout junk food and fast food. Our schools sell soft drinks, junk food and fast food to our children. To make matters worse, portion size is out of control. 1
According to Dr. Michael Holick, a Boston University vitamin D specialist, there is actually an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency in teens. 2
This is due to their typical habits of little outdoor exercise (preferring movies and video games) and little milk (preferring soft drinks). Dr. Catherine Gordon, a Boston pediatric endocrinologist, says her research suggests as many as 20 percent of healthy children in Boston may be vitamin D deficient. That’s going to haunt them all their life. German researchers say there are “clear indications” that heart disease may be caused by vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D blood levels were up to 50 percent lower in patients with chronic heart failure than in a control group. 3
Let’s face it: our diet is not “normal,” and we would benefit from supplements. Fortunately, not all doctors have their heads in the sand. A review of scientific articles on the subject came to this conclusion: “Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. Pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements.” 4
The study recommends “Physicians should make specific efforts to learn about their patients’ use of vitamins to ensure that they are taking vitamins they should, such as folate supplementation for women in the childbearing years, and avoiding dangerous practices such as high doses of vitamin A during preg- nancy or massive doses of fat-soluble vitamins at any age.” When was the last time your doctor initiated such a discussion with you? Fortunately, I think our schools are improving. California would be the first state in the nation to ban school soda sales to elementary school students if Gov. Gray Davis signs a new bill passed by the state Senate in August. There is a ban scheduled to take effect January 1, but only if schools get additional funding for nutrition programs (not likely). This new bill doesn’t depend on schools getting additional money and would take effect next July 1. 5
Our schools are cleaning up their act. And you should also tell your kids that cartoon characters love junk food only because they don’t eat it! Out of 13,000 men and women aged 35 to 60 cancer was the major cause of death in a recent French study. But a vitamin cocktail reduced the risk of cancer in men by 31%. Women did not benefit, possibly because their diet was better than the men’s to begin with. 6
Let that inspire us to eat healthy and take our vitamins! 1 Brakes on the Scale, Nanci Hellmich, USA Today, 8/03. 2 Doctors: Teens’ vitamin D deficiency an epidemic, CNN.com, 9/1/03 3 www.foodnavigator.com/news/news.asp?id=6770, 1/15/03. 4 Fletcher, R., Fairfield, K., JAMA, 2002;287:3127-3129. 5 State Senate approves ban…, San Diego Union Tribune, 8/29/03. 6 News.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/3122033.stm, 8/4/03.