More than half the population in the United States has low vitamin D as reflected in blood work done on patients by their doctors. I recently had blood work done reflecting an dramatic increase in
LDL cholesterol level. A young woman from the doctor’s office called to tell me the doctor said my vitamin D level was low. She said the doctor wanted me to take vitamin D and I would feel better. Meanwhile the blood work showed my LDL level was 214 which is very high. I had to ask for those results- then check the patient portal - let’s focus on the main thing
@Surfer 214 is not very high, that is above normal but not veey high. A low vitamn D level is not foos though....
Vegans are urged to take vitamin B12 supplements to avoid neurological damage, and those of us who don't get much sun exposure are urged to take vitamin D.
1
We have moved beyond the "mega-vitamin" craze. If you are eating a well balanced diet and are following the growing insights into foods that are especially good for young people, adults and seniors, males and females, why should a multi-vitamin pill provide any benefit unless you are deficient in a particular vitamin or nutrient?
Of course, there is the placebo effect.
2
Dr. Valter Longo of University of Southern California has studied longevity and fasting mimicking diets over 30 years. centering on evidence-based research in (1) basic/juventology (staying young) , (2) epidemiology (your area), (3) clinical studies (your area), (4)studies of centenarians, (5) the understanding of complex systems of the diet, the disease, and the longevity, working with numerous scientists and clinicians in the different area. His research now expanded from aging to cancer, Alzheimer's. Perkinson's, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, autoimmune diseases such as multiple screlosis, Crohn's diseases etc. After evidence based rigorous researches, he still recommends mutivitamin intake every 3 days in addition to his longevity diet and occasional fasting mimicking diet. I don't think he recommends multivitamins for "placebo effect".
1
Did anyone ever think they did?
6
Did they pull out a sub-group of patients who carry the MTHFR mutations, and see if folate and B12 help?
I am used to ignorant comments from proud doctors that don't have in-depth knowledge on vitamins. However I pay attention to research results like Nicholas Bakalar gathers.
Dr. Valter Longo, who has done rigorous scientific research on longevity over 30 years, cautions excess intake of vitamins/supplements, and he advises to eat his longevity diet and occasional fasting mimicking diet with multivitamins a few times a week and omega-3 supplementation.
https://valterlongo.com/daily-longevity-diet/
He has expanded his longevity research into the age-related diseases such as cardio-vascular diseases, type-2 diabetes, cancer and dementia in cooperation with doctors and clinicians. And yet, the most interesting advice for cancer prevention is the fact that he recommends 6 grams daily intake of vitamin C for several weeks in every 6 months in addition to his longevity diet and his specially designed fasting mimicking diet. He has not seen any clinical tests that show side effects from this level of vitamin C intake.
1
I'm a doctor and the only vitamin advice for my patients is to eat a well balanced diet. I dont take over the counter vitamins and do not prescribe unless someone is proven deficient.
5
to emdee:
When your patient's homocysteine level is 15 micromoles /litter, what do you suggest to this patient?
To Emdee:
Since I have not heard from you, I presume you don't advise a patient suffering from high level of homocysteine that is neurotoxic and also one of the causes of atherosclerosis because homocysteine damages cell membrane or increases tangles in the brain cells. Perhaps you will wait until your patient suffers from sudden heart attack, stroke or some type of neuro illness. B vitamins like B12, folate, B6 etc. will help this patient before getting worse. This is called "prevention".
There is nothing surprising, or particularly enlightening about the outcome of this analysis.
For one, a multivitamin, even a quality one, could not ever substitute for the role of exercise, proper diet, and stress management in maintaining heart health. At best, for people who do have a proper diet and lifestyle, including exercise, it could help to supplement potential deficiencies that could crop up as we age due to diminished absorption of nutrients, which is known to happen.
Beyond that, this analysis and the studies upon which it was based, assumed multivitamins are a single thing. In fact, there are hundreds, no – thousands, of different ones on the market, with widely varying quality and contents.
For example, vitamin E to be of value must include all eight tocopherols. However, few multivitamins will include that, because it is costly. Folic acid, while cheap, is a synthetic derivative, and not equivalent to folate (vitamin B9), which is the form needed by the body. Again, more expensive, and seldom used in less expensive multivitamins.
So in conclusion, the study waiting to be done is how does taking a high-quality multivitamin for people 50 and over who don't smoke, eat well, and exercise reduce all cause mortality?
6
I also read recently in the Times that the WHO were urging that health agencies ‘disuade’ deliberately misleading claims about infant formula.
But the US health agencies tried to defend these (mostly) US companies practice of lying to their customers.
Health Food supplement manufacturers and their senior executives make lots of money producing unnecessary (and sometimes dangerous) products and telling us these ‘are good for you’.
I suppose it isn’t all bad as some of your money is recycled into bribes, sorry ‘campaign contributions’ for politicians.
4
Originally, the "studies" denied that vitamins even contained vitamins because they were not regulated by big pharma
Now, the "studies" say that vitamins don't do anything for your heart. News flash: I never thought vitamins were intended for your heart.
Given a healthy life style, vitamin pills provide you with the vitamins and minerals you might be missing because your "healthy" food may be coming from depleted sources.
I imagine that the long term purpose of this analysis is to justify taking "worthless" vitamins off the market and available by prescription only.
3
Big Pharma? And what about Big Vitamins? That, too, is a multi-billion dollar business with questionable benefits for health. In Germany, where I am from, it is believed that vitamin pills are useless because they do not provide the same bio-availability as vitamins and minerals contained in REAL food.
7
Big Pharma seeks to get rid of Big Vitamins exactly because it is a billion dollar industry.
I completely agree with you: vitamins and minerals from food is better; however, some food is being grown on land that doesn’t contain much of either anymore. This lack is why we need occassional supplementation.