Vitamins

[Byron]

What is the current verdict on whether we should supplement our diets with vitamins?

We have heard from both sides of the spectrum-

those who say that vitamins are useless, because of differences in chemical structure of synthetic vitamins reduces assimilation,

and those who advocate massive amounts of vitamins, megadosing like Ray Kurzweil.


Is there a definitve answer, perhaps starting with the validity of the RDA values, that our bodies NEED a certain amount of vitamins daily, for optimal functioning, or for children for optimal growth, and is it important to follow it to-the-T every day?

And what value would there be in overcompensating, in megadosing- wouldn't this overload the liver?

Anyone have a perfect middle ground?


Also wondering if vegans Steve and Erin supplement their diets or their children's diets?

[sophi]

You seem to be very well educated in this topic To my mind vitamins are useful when you are living a very busy life and when you have no opportunity to take much care of your diet, cos I know it from my own experience if you take calcium pills they work inspite that they are synthetic, but at the same time I use synthetic vitamins only when I have no opportunity to take natural food and when it is winter. Also I've read recently that if you're smoking taking some synthetic vitamins may cause cancer cells development. And the last thing I know is that if you have clean body (I mean from inside), e.g. after fasting your organism is able to assimilate much more vitamins from your food

[ahimel]

In general, most people in developed countries get enough vitamins from their diet. Vitamin deficiency was more of a problem when peasants ate one thing every single day for their entire lives -- if you're an Irish peasant eating nothing but potatoes, you're going to have a problem. In a world where I can trudge through 2 feet of snow to get to a grocery store selling oranges and pineapples, it's not quite such a big deal.

However, depending on the level of junk food in your diet, and the variety you do end up eating, and the sorts of foods you eat, you still may fall short on one or two vitamins. I, for example, can't eat anything very acidic because it hurts my stomach dreadfully - this means I never eat berries and hardly ever eat citrus fruits. As a result, I'm frequently short of vitamin C despite a relatively healthy diet. If you eat neither dairy nor broccoli, you may be low on calcium, and so on.

I take a vitamin pill because it's unlikely to hurt, and fills in whatever gaps there may be. Technically speaking, a better route would be to keep a spreadsheet with all the necessary vitamins and minerals, keep track of how much of each one every item of food has, and make sure I meet the RDA for each one every day. If I fall short of one, I'd take a vitamin pill for that one to make up the difference. But... I'm lazy. So I take a multivitamin, and it keeps my levels for everything high enough that they don't cause problems, and low enough that I don't OD.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by ahimel

In general, most people in developed countries get enough vitamins from their diet. Vitamin deficiency was more of a problem when peasants ate one thing every single day for their entire lives -- if you're an Irish peasant eating nothing but potatoes, you're going to have a problem. In a world where I can trudge through 2 feet of snow to get to a grocery store selling oranges and pineapples, it's not quite such a big deal.

From what I've seen, most people in developed countries eat packed processed crap, which contains few beneficial and many harmful nutrients

It's not about the location. It's about eating enough organic whole foods. And the willingness to do so with joy.

[llong]

Hate to say it, but at an annual cost of say US$30, I'd say it's a really cheap insurance policy against deficiency.

Plus, I don't think people eat well, even in this day and age.

[escapee]

I really think that eating well is critical for the absorption of vitamin and other useful nutrients . For example, If one is deficient of healthy saturated fat (eg: Good saturated fat found in pastured meat or coconut/tropical oil )by eating bunch of junk food loaded with sugar and trans fats (except CLA), I believe he/she is also likely to be deficient in fat soluble vitamins and essential fats such as omega fatty acids even with supplementation (eg: fish oil).

saturated fatty acids enhance the absorption and metabolism of omega-3 fatty acids through the delta-6-desaturase (D6D) pathway

[Jon]

Originally Posted by llong

Hate to say it, but at an annual cost of say US$30, I'd say it's a really cheap insurance policy against deficiency.

Plus, I don't think people eat well, even in this day and age.

Hate to say it, but it's not much of an insurance... I myself wish a few cheap pills could provide for complete nutrition, but they don't. Especially if you use them as an excuse to skip nutritious but perhaps not so tasty food.

There are thousands of compounds researchers have yet to research and understand. Mother nature knows best so far

[ahimel]

Originally Posted by Jon

From what I've seen, most people in developed countries eat packed processed crap, which contains few beneficial and many harmful nutrients

It's not about the location. It's about eating enough organic whole foods. And the willingness to do so with joy.

Location doesn't guarantee that you'll get enough nutrients. But even US fast-food has more varied nutrients than some people get. Most people will eat some kind of cereal or pastry for breakfast, a hamburger and fries for lunch, and pasta or tacos or microwaved dinners for dinner. As nutrient-poor as that diet may be compared to what you eat, it's still significantly higher in many nutrients than the handful of rice that many people in China are living on.

[escapee]

"handful of rice that many people in China are living on."

Most of the Northern chinese eat wheat based food instead of rice as the southern ppl do. The northern chinese are on average taller than the southern chinese due to consumption of beef and lamb based food.

Food in China - Variety and Monotony

Animal foods in the Chinese diet, while beyond the reach of many, are characterized by great diversity. Scavenger, omnivorous animals such as pig, chicken and duck are preferred to beef and lamb, although beef and lamb—and more meat in general—are consumed by the northern Chinese, who are admired for their size and strength.

One thing for sure , It's very difficult to find obese people in most of the China ( in city maybe you can find some ), especially the horrific size of the typical mid-age SAD eater

[escapee]

Traditional Diets