But now I read they're a waste of money because they don't actually boost your health. A study of over 20,000 adults published in the British Medical Journal found no difference in disease or health conditions between those who took multivitamins and those who didn't. And a recent review of over 80 studies on vitamin and mineral supplements concluded they had little or no benefit in preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease or death.
Personally I've only taken multivitamins a couple of times, for a very short period, when I thought I might need them. They certainly had no visible effect on my health or well-being.
Nowadays I only take two tablets regularly - one to keep my blood pressure down plus vitamin D because most of us lack it in sun-deprived Britain. I avoid taking tablets unless I really have to. The odd aspirin or indigestion tablet is about it. Oh, and vitamin C if I have a heavy cold.
Jenny and I do our best to follow a nutritious diet that ought to give us all the vitamins we need. We eat lots of raw food like fruit and nuts and try to avoid anything ultra-processed (chocolate somehow slips through the net).
Jenny has been taking flaxseed oil tablets for a long while as she says they improve her health. Well, if that's what she says....
Yeah, I'm the same Nick.
ReplyDeleteOften think paracetamol is just a placebo, but who knows if it helps or we just got better anyway.
Liam: Agreed, many ailments disappear of their own accord.
DeleteNick, no multivitamins. In our home. We eat quite healthy too. And we buy nothing industrial.. Saïd loves to cook, fresh and simple. I agree with Jenny and flatseedoil is part of our nutrition too , one spoon every morning sometimes with some bread. When I was a child I got two spoons of cod liver oil every day. It was horrible, but times were hard
ReplyDeleteI think the multivitamns industry only exists to make a lot of money..
Ginger and vitamin C when we have a cold is generally sufficient.
Hannah
Hannah: Jenny loves to cook too, so we mainly have very healthy food. I used to get cod liver oil as well - yukk! I'll bet the multivitamins and health food industry is highly profitable. The idea that we're all lacking some vital nutrients is an attractive one if we're feeling tired or dim-witted or generally under the weather.
DeleteSorry flaxseed of course.
ReplyDeleteHannah
I did a deep dive into supplements about 10 years ago when Middle Child had to do a research paper on the topic. Supplements are a huge money making industry. The worst part is that because there’s no regulation, manufacturers can put anything into the tablets and some have been tested to not even include the main ingredient. I steer clear.
ReplyDeleteWe buy flaxseed and sprinkle it onto our food!
Bijoux: I was reading the same as you that many tablets don't include the ingredients listed - or as you say may not even include the principal ingredient. How would anyone know about the substitutions and omissions unless you go to some lab to get them tested?
DeleteI take Vitamin D and Folic Acid tablets because my levels were very low. But since taking them my levels are back up in the normal range.
ReplyDeleteMary: Good that things are back to normal.
DeleteCod liver oil and Gregory's Powders in youth were enough to put me off taking any supplements in any form whatsoever for life. I try to eat a decent diet, not processed goodness knows what, stay outside as much as possible - just can't walk as I used to do. No confidence in these hyped pills and potions.
ReplyDeleteHelen: Never heard of Gregory's Powders! Looks like I escaped something nasty. It's hard to avoid highly-processed foods these days.
DeleteI take a daily multi-vitamin because I am not good about eating fruits and vegetables. So many foods irritate my supersensitive digestive system that I mostly eat meat/fish/poultry and bread. I tried making a list of all the foods that upset me until it got ridiculously long.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: Sorry to hear your stomach is so temperamental. Luckily my stomach is still tolerant of most foods.
DeleteAt least I've avoided vitamins all these years.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: Do you mean you've avoided multivitamins??
DeleteI think dark chocolate is actually good for you, so don't worry about that.
ReplyDeleteI take vitamin D for the same reason as you, and that's all.
Happy New Year!
Sxx
Happy New Year, Ms Scarlet. Yes, dark chocolate is said to be good for your health. So we can stuff ourselves with it!
DeleteNick, I have read similar articles, one recently, about the non-benefits of many vitamins. Like yourself, I do take vitamin Z and zinc (recommended by our medical practitioner) when a cold is near, but even that has been very infrequent, thankfully. That's not to say, I did not take a multi-vitamin and also calcium but after learning from our medical practitioner that calcium causes constipation that has been eliminated in recent months. I do exercise regularly, avoid buying processed foods and we never eat at fast food places so I'll be saving $ formerly spent on non-necessary vitamins.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: I didn't know that too much calcium can cause constipation (not that I've ever had constipation). Like you, we never eat at fast food places, goodness knows what those fashionable burgers consist of.
DeleteI read that English hospitals are seeing more and more patients with vitamin deficiencies.
Sounds like a wise self-med routine. Here's wishing you a Happy New Year as we begin some interesting times.
ReplyDeleteJoared: And self-med reduces the burden on GPs. A Happy New Year to you too.
Delete