Harmful Daily Vitamins?
When I was little, my mom always put a Flintstone Vitamin next to my bowl of cereal every morning before school. I did not mind, because it tasted really good and my mom told me that it helped my body grow. Being a college student with unhealthy eating habits, I have made it a habit to take a daily vitamin with breakfast every morning thinking that the vitamin helps even everything out. So it caught my attention when I read in a U.S. News article that stated that vitamins and minerals in daily pills do not necessarily provide all of the benefits that people hope to receive from them.
In the article, it mentioned a study that researched the effects of selenium and vitamin E on prostate cancer, as these two supplements were originally thought to help prevent this type of cancer. However this study of 35,000 men found that these two supplements actually had slightly increased the risk of prostate cancer and diabetes, and the researchers closed the study early. This article mentions that many of the foods produced in present times are fortified with enough nutrients that supplements do not make a difference (Hobson, 2008).
During this time when many vitamins and minerals are being questioned, researchers are pushing vitamin D more than ever. Researchers have yet to find adverse side effects and the vitamin has been found to benefit the entire body. According to Dr. Bruce Hamilton and Dr. Hakin Chalabi (2010), adequate amounts of vitamin D nearly doubles calcium absorption and decreases the loss of phosphorus from the kidneys. The doctors also found that supplementation of vitamin D reduces the loss of type II muscle fibers as people age. In a study by Cannell et. al. (2009), the researchers found that ultraviolet light had a positive effect on athletic performance. The findings that vitamin D positively affects human skeletal muscle, along with these findings that UV light affects athletic performance can be used to benefit training athletes (Cannell, 2009).
Antioxidant vitamins are among the most popular supplements. In a study by Hercberg et. al. (1999), the researchers focused on patients with high risk cardiovascular diseases. The researchers found that antioxidants such as carotene, tocopherol, and selenium had a positive effect on cancer incidence rates. The researchers also found no harmful effects of antioxidant supplementation on health outcomes in patients with cardiovascular diseases (Hercberg, 1999).
In summary, taking vitamin and mineral supplements cannot replace a healthy diet and adequate physical activity, but in most situations, it does not hurt. Personally, I feel that it is common sense to supplement vitamins and minerals that the human body needs if you feel that your diet is not sufficient. Pharmaceutical companies and research will continue to push certain vitamins and hold back on others, but simply taking daily vitamin still seems like a logical habit.
References:
Cannell J., Hollis B., Sorenson M., et al. (2009). "Athletic performance and vitamin D." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 43(5):1102-1110.
Hamilton, B., & Chalabi, H. (2010). VITAMIN D: AN UPDATE FOR THE SPORTS MEDICINE PRACTITIONER. SportEX Medicine, (43), 11-16. Retrieved from SPORTDiscus with Full Text database.
Hercberg, S., Galan, P., & Preziosi, P. (1999). Antioxidant Vitamins and Cardiovascular Disease: Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde?. American Journal of Public Health, 89(3), 289-291. Retrieved from SPORTDiscus with Full Text database.
Hobson, K. (2008). Vitamins and Supplements: Do they work? U.S. News and World Report, Retrieved from:
The old daily vitamin argument - always so fun. I especially enjoyed one of your opening lines - about how you have unhealthy eating habits, and you hope that taking a vitamin would balance it out. I think that is one of the biggest problems we have with vitamins and they way they are marketed. A daily vitamin isn't designed to "fix" anything, and it won't make up for a terrible diet. Daily vitamins are designed to enhance a diet that lacks specific nutrients. Furthermore, so many people just want to buy the pill that will "have it all." Turns out, many elements actually cancel each other out - so just because a pill has 80 different "things" in it, doesn't mean that you're getting all of them. My favorite part about reading vitamin labels is the absurd amount of vitamins and minerals that are put in each serving. Why do we need 500% of a certain vitamin? to me, if a pill promises to give me 5 times the recommended amount, there is either a problem with the absorbency of that pill, or i'm paying too much for something I don't need. What if i only want to pay for 100% of what I need - and who says i don't already get some of it through my regular diet. Even those great McDonald's shakes have some calcium in them.... so look over your diet, and if someone promises you 1200% of what you need - think twice.
First, I would like to say that I also have (fond) memories of taking Flintstone chewable vitamins as a child!
Second, I thought the portion about the benefits of Vitamin D were very interesting, especially the UV light, Vitamin D, and athletic training. It would be very interesting to conduct more research on Vitamin D supplementation and athletic performance. Does Vitamin D have some sort of effect on type II muscle fibers? Although this is anecdotal evidence, from 2004-2008 the state of Florida produced the highest number of BSC recruits in DI football – is it possible that because Florida is sunny, the athletes are somehow benefiting from higher levels of Vitamin D than those living in less-sunny states? I know Vitamin D research is an area where there is great interest, and I am excited to read more research on Vitamin D and its potential benefits (whether athletic-based or not) as it is published.
I just quit taking a daily multivitamin about 4 months ago. I feel one can get enough vitamins from the foods that we typically buy at the grocery store. However, I do take a daily omega 3 fish oil once a day because I don't eat enough foods that will supply me with the proper amount of omega 3. I am intrested in learning more about vitamin D and it's effects on type II muscle fibers and athlletic performance. Good Article review I enjoyed reading it.
This is an interesting blog, especially since just the other day my boyfriend was telling me that he heard supplements do not really do as much as we think they do. Although they contain more of the vitamin, the body cannot absorb it as efficiently as it can in foods.
My opinion is that it's always best to try to get everything as naturally as possible.
Supplements are most useful for people who do not get much of a certain vitamin due to their diet or are found to be deficent and need to replenish their body's supply.
It is also important to note that supplements do not simply make an unhealthy diet healthy magically and there can be other consequences to a poor diet.
I think this article was pretty interesting, especially for the research that pertains to males and prostate cancer. Although I do believe that everyone should try as hard as they can to get their vitamins naturally, I think some kinds of vitamins aren't harmful, as long as they're more "anecdotal" in nature. As a female, Calcium and Iron are two crucial vitamins, so if I don't get enough calcium during the day, I don't think this article would make me stop taking my daily vitamin that DOES make up for some of my voids.