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Are vitamins good for you? How do you know?

The_Antichrist 6 Mar 5
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5

If your doctor identifies a deficiency, or your diet is poor, vitamins can help. Otherwise, it's a crap shoot.

How do you know vitamins can help? Isn't this just hearsay?

@The_Antichrist It depends on the situation. If you have a diagnosed deficiency, you will notice a difference. If it's a poor diet, you probably won't feel a great deal different until you change your diet. If you are just taking them because you saw an ad for them, you may notice changes like urine being darker, but no significant change in health. This is because the amounts of individual vitamins vary, both in single nutrient vitamins and in vitamin complexes, like those aimed at different groups (Centrum Silver, for example). Vitamins are necessary nutrients, but we get most of them from balanced diets. If you are feeling crappy, and your doctor identifies a deficiency, find foods higher in that vitamin before buying supplements.

@The_Antichrist many vitamins were discovered because various deficiencies would lead to illness or death. Just taking supplements without cause is pointless and possibly dangerous, but addressing known shortages can be life changing.

4

B complex with C for my Hypothroidism and D3 and Calcium because I've had Cancer. My various Drs all agree on this.

3

That depends on your general nutritional status. For example, alcoholics are often thiamine deficient. If they take in a big sugar load, they could get an acute Wernike’s encephalopathy. It’s well known that the British are referred to as “limies” because they found that having sailors suck on limes (for the vitamin C) prevented scurvy. If you eat a balanced diet, you probably don’t need vitamins.

Who the hell eats a balanced diet?

@dahermit I do. If you want to take vitamins, take them. Just don't overdo the fat soluble ones like Vit A. 🙂

3

Certain supplements I take are necesarry for quality of life. Not taking them = suffering.

3

Yes, you have to have vitamins, science says so.

I'm referring to vitamin supplements, like a daily multiple vitamin.
What science says you have to take vitamin supplements?

@The_Antichrist you said vitamins, you didn't say supplements. And you didn't say "take"; you asked if vitamins are good for you. They are, in fact, necessary. Next time you may want to be more specific in your question.

2

They are essential, rickets and scurvy are virtually unown these days. Our diet is so good these days, deficiencies are rare. I take some minerals and vitamins if I am unwell, also in special medical cases, Vit K helps blood clotting, Vit B3 helps control skin cancers in people with compromised immune systems.

2

Sometimes they just give you expensive pee, but if you have a deficiency or don't eat well, vitamins might be necessary. I don't get much sunlight, and I've been Vitamin D deficient before. So I take a Vit D supplement becasue seriously the effects of that deficiency did not help my life at all. I take a B vitamin supplement, it helps with mood. I take a few others. Maybe I take too many, but I'm finally in a better place healthwise and I'm going to be really careful about changing things.

2

You get plenty of vitamins in a well regulated diet. Most of the vitamins you take in are not processed by your body. Only take them if you have a specific deficiency or if your a vegetarian. Otherwise it’s a waste of money.

2

Scientific consensus is that they are. I'll go with that.

Jnei Level 8 Mar 5, 2018

Pseudoscience?

1

Can't think of the name of the book but there's (at least) one out there that questions the quality of the vitamins being sold, the author supported her/his findings by a lot of research. The website labdoor.com does a similar thing.
I think it's healthy to use vitamins with some skepticism. I say that because it's a profit-driven market.

1

They are good for everbody! Buying vitamin pills allow vitamin manufacters to turn a profit and employ people! CONSUME everybody! who cares if the crap works, CONSUME!

0

It depends. Some vitamins are abetter than others.

Most vitamin supplements are nto easily absorbed into your body. If you fidn your urine has a deep color after taking yoru vitamin supplements, then they are nto beign absorbed, and you are literally pissing them back out and they are nto doing you any good.

Nature Made, Trader Joe's and Life Extensions are three companies tht make vitamins that are more easily absorbed, an dalso re rated well for ctually containing what the pabel says. Some companies have poor quality control and the labeled dosages are not correct. Reserch the company before buying any new vitamin brand.

The truth is that msot peopel don't ctually need supplements. If you eat a wide variety of foods you will likely get enough nutrients to where you wont' need vitamins. If you live in the upper Northern or lower Southern parts of hte globe you may wnt o take soem vitamin D supplements. This woudl also be true if you simply spen dall yoru time indoors and never get out in the sun at all. If you are int eh sun, your body will produce vitamin D by itself naturally. Withotu Vitamin D you will experience a mush lower energy and metabolism.

0

A mountain of peer-reviewed, double-blind crossover sudies in reputable journals.

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Has anyone visited 'labdoor.com'? I found it useful.

0

Kinda simple, a doctor. The medicine I take drains my Vitamin D I took over the counter Vitamin D now my levels are pretty normal. Pretty sure that is at least sub-par evidence.

Malus Level 4 Mar 6, 2018
0

Vitamins can make all the difference in the world! I'm living proof. The tricky part is that one size doesn't fit all, and our needs keep changing as we age. Some of us don't absorb and assimilate nutrients very efficiently, which is why high quality vitamins and minerals can make a big difference in how we function. I have had some miraculous results from various formulas over the years! I'm in my early 70,s and pharaceutical-free, thanks to my supplements. A word of advice---don't buy cheap vitamins. Go to your local health food store and ask lots of questions. Bottom line---if it weren't for my Omega 3,s, Solary mineral formula, Vitamin "D"3, Vitamin "C", Glucosamine and Chondroitan, Moringa, Vitamin "B" complex, digestive enzymes I'd be a goner by now. I remember how lousy I felt after I turned 50 in spite of my efforts to take the best possible care of my body since I was in my mid-20,s. That's when I got serious about turning things around.
One more thing---I developed rheumatoid arthritis (runs in the family) when I was in my 40,s, and eventually I dreaded winter because of the painful and debilitating flareups that occurred for half of the year. About 2 years ago I began taking CBD Oil, and this is the first winter that I'm flareup-free!

0

Like others I think they're good based on experience. one could argue its a placebo effect but not with such clear results, and such widespread ones.

0

I think in a perfect world we would get adequate vitamins from our diet. I don’t think many of us do so I look at a multivitamin as insurance.

Nuke Level 5 Mar 5, 2018
0

Depends. If you have a relatively balanced diet, vitamins will not provide you with more because your body will see it doesn't need extra and urinate it out. However if, like me, you struggle to get key nutrients through diet, substituting with vitamins will help. It has been studied a lot and the studies are on the national Institute of health's library website

0

I was iron deficient and anemic: I took iron supplements, I am no longer anemic. Vitamin or minerals supplements can help with a variety of dietary deficiencies. Always consult with a doctor first.

0

Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling thought Vit C could cure just about everything, even cancer.

I think he coined the term "megadose."

He was a genius but I think studies have shown him wrong. I do not think there is a study demonstrating a mega dose of vitamin c results in anything more than expensive urine.

@Nuke I know it's controversial, but I think you're wrong about that. These are just a few.

[ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] (Cancer)

[ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] (minimizes radiation poisoning)

[ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] (GABA modulation-- big deal in autism)

[ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] (cataracs prevention)

@Lysistrata Thanks for the info. The studies look promising. I don't think these studies really showed any benefit in humans but I admit they do show that more research is warranted.

0

I will say yes, even if you body processed half of whatever and releases the rest its a benefit I think, I take vitamin C nearly every day

0

You need to consume vitamins to maintain health of most organs and systems. But if the question is specific to packaged vitamins, it depends on whether you need to supplement your diet.

0

Without enough vitamine D you get rickets. Without enough vitamine C you get Scurvy. If you want to find out for sure, just stop eating things with vitamine D and C and you will find out. When the White man showed the Asians how to polish the husks off rice, the Asians stopped eating Brown rice with its vitamine D in the husk. The Asians began to get Rickets...even the chickens that were fed on White rice developed the condition. It was when Mellanby and McCollum observed that chickens that had access to and were eating the cast-off rice hulls did not deveolop rickets, the connection between that disease and Vitamine D was discovered. Or, you could just avoid foods with Vitamine A and go night blind...the connection between vitamines and good healt is very easy to prove.

0

Numerous observations plus scientific studies have shown they are........ Scurvy anyone?

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