The September issue of Consumer Reports has as the cover story: “The 12 Most Dangerous Supplements”. The cover story is loaded with lots of good consumer information on the topic of vitamin supplements. One article that caught my eye was the one on multivitamins on page 21. At the bottom right of the page, there is a short, yet important side article “Food trumps pills”. In this short article, it makes the point that the majority of Americans don’t get all the vitamins from a healthy diet and that they turn to multivitamins for a cheap easy fix. The problem with this is that supplementing with multivitamins does not give the body all that it needs the same way food does ( due to what I will call nature’s magic ingredients: phytochemicals).

This reality opens the door to a short personal anecdote on how I did not take a vitamin supplement for over 15 years. During those 15 years, I ate what I thought was a balanced diet, worked and exercised regularly to maintain my health. Now that I am over 40 years “young”, I decided that there are some parts of my diet that need to be additionally supplemented. The point here is that I took no vitamins for 15 years and had no adverse effects because my diet provided everything I needed. I am not unique in this approach. I see a lot of people daily who need guidance on what vitamin to take. After asking questions on their diet and activity levels, I recommend an appropriate vitamin supplement IF ONE IS NEEDED.  Most requests are for “magic pills” that would sweep away characteristics of aging and work-related maladies that lead to poor health. Sorry to say, no one multivitamin will do this. The only “thing” that will do this on a consistent basis is a balanced diet and regular physical activity.

Now, just because I didn’t take a vitamin for 15 years doesn’t mean that I am in favor of this approach. This approach worked for me based on my nutritional needs.  There are many instances when vitamin supplementation is vital for good health. These include issues relating to pregnancy and restricted diets due to organ damage or mal-absorption problems. Your physician will guide you best in these cases.

One thing to keep in mind is as we age, our diet needs change. Our lifestyle, activity levels and nutrition needs should be assessed periodically and must be viewed holistically to achieve optimum health. If you want to achieve certain goals, for example, reduce free radicals in your diet, then increasing anti-oxidant foods, certain herbs and vitamins are all essential. This approach uses the best nature has to offer with the best science has to offer (right now).

So, keep in mind that the vitamin supplement industry is a $4.5billion market and it’s going to grow bigger as the population ages and good nutrition habits decline.  The pundits in this industry will want you to believe that it has the answers to most physical/nutritional issues so that you can continue spending money in a hope of what it will do. The important take home point is that you may not be getting your money’s worth from the vitamins that are being bought and that eating the right foods may be all you need.

Until next week, stay healthy.

Dion