Multivitamin

Vitamins and nutrients are essential for human beings to intake because the body cannot produce those substances on its own. As it is needed, it is only needed in small amounts and supplements are not the way to go. Vitamin supplements have proven to be much more of a hype than a help because they hold potential harm, food is more effective, and they have many false claims.

Many people take their vitamins in the morning thinking they will help them stay healthy, but most do not realize that they can do the exact opposite. Many multivitamins contain levels of vitamins that “double, triple, or even upwards of 1,000 to 2,000 percent” of the FDA’s Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) (Megadoses of Vitamins). While the RDA is only a bare minimum of the amount of vitamins to intake, the ‘more is better’ concept does not always apply to vitamins. For example, excessive doses of Vitamin A can cause nausea, scaling skin, and headaches, Vitamin C can cause nausea and diarrhea, and Vitamin B6 can cause nerve damage (Megadoses of Vitamins). In addition, superfluous amounts of one vitamin may affect the absorption of others. The absorption of other vitamins could be increased or decreased, causing major imbalances. Both overdosing and underdosing can some with side effects, such as some listed above. These, along with vitamin deficiency, can hurt the body in many ways. How many people would be so eager to buy another bottle of ‘miracle pills’ when knowing these startling facts?

A common fallacy is that multivitamin can take the place of a nutritious diet. In fact, the truth is the exact opposite. A proper diet can often do what vitamins claim, and fail, to. For instance, a diet high in antioxidants help to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer (Megadoses of Vitamins). Unlike vitamins, many nutritious foods have been solidly proven to prevent cancer. Vitamin supplements can never truly replicate food due to the fact that “real food contains a mind-boggling diversity of not just vitamins and minerals, but hundreds, indeed thousands, of bio-active plant compounds” (Multivitamins – Don’t Believe the Hype). Phytonutrients are found in plant-based foods, and, while phytonutrients are not indispensable, they play a very significant role in preventing disease and helping the body function properly. Not only does food provide phytonutrients, but it is a lot safer than multivitamins. An unfavorable vitamin to overdose on is Vitamin A, however it is impossible to overdose on it through food. Vitamin A is stored harmlessly as a provitamin compound when it comes from food (Megadoses of Vitamins). These provitamin compounds are converted into actual vitamins only when needed. Therefore, no more will be converted than the body can handle. It is advisable to spend a few dollars on fresh produce instead of another Big Mac and a vitamin.

Finally, there have been many false claims made about vitamins. The FDA does not even regulate the vitamin industry, the manufacturers do. They conduct all safety tests which do not have to be approved by the FDA and may have questionable quality. To get supplements taken off the market, the FDA must thoroughly prove they do not work which, due to the vast number of supplements on the market, the FDA simply cannot (Dietary Supplements: Help or Hype). There are also many loopholes in which a vitamin company can make a false claim. For example, the loose definition of “disease” can allow companies to claim to improve mild memory loss, such as from aging, while it does not help actual Alzheimer’s or dementia. All the company needs to do is slap on a disclaimer with that assertion (Dietary Supplements: Help or Hype). Also, many people believe that multivitamins help prevent numerous diseases but studies have proven otherwise. A study was done by the Women’s Health Initiative that had “162,000 women ages 50 to 74 who took multivitamins for eight years and found that the supplements did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases or any of the major cancers” (Researchers Expose Myths). Another study was conducted in 2008 by the Physician’s Health Study II. Its participants consisted of 15,000 male doctors and the results concluded that Vitamin C and E both did not do anything to prevent cancer or cardiovascular disease (Researchers Expose Myths). There are many studies like these that hold the same notion that supplements do not prevent disease, contrary to what most believe. These claims lead people to blindly trust the claims surrounding vitamins.