Vitamins

[Walkoff Balk]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090609/...emedies_safety

I thought taking vitamins was one of the healthiest things to do. You can't win.

[tutusue]

Re: Vitamins

Quality control has been an issue as far back as I can remember because the FDA has no control over supplements.

[LocalMotion]

Re: Vitamins

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090609/...emedies_safety

I thought taking vitamins was one of the healthiest things to do. You can't win.

It is but you need to take a quality vitamin. I suggest USANA.

Also vitamins are an essential addition to a good diet which includes the right foods as well.

[Vanguard]

Re: Vitamins

Also vitamins are an essential addition to a good diet which includes the right foods as well.

Especially vitamin R!

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Vitamins

I take a lot of vitamins daily. I haven't caught a cold or a fever for a few years now. The vitamins can't be just a placebo.

[Barry]

Re: Vitamins

Just let me say that when I was in Honolulu, a friend suggested that I should get some ZINC tablets, I had a bit of a cold.
I take one each day and I highly recomend them.

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Vitamins

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38542031...ative_medicine

Just because it's a supplement, it might not be safe to take.

[tutusue]

Re: Vitamins

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38542031...ative_medicine

Just because it's a supplement, it might not be safe to take.

There was a piece about this on the Today Show this morning. It will also be addressed in the Sept. issue of Consumer Reports:

The organization pointed to 12 supplement ingredients in particular that it said could be dangerous: aconite, bitter orange, chaparral, colloidal silver, coltsfoot, comfrey, country mallow, germanium, greater celandine, kava, lobelia, and yohimbe.

[Kaonohi]

Re: Vitamins

I take a commercial Multivitamin, caus my Dr. says so.

On my own, I take 100 mg Viamin B-1, to offest the wine I drink, 50 mg. B-6 to help my nerves function correctly, and a 500 mg dose of B-12 because it is easily destroyed by other vitamins and it's good for blood cells, which I need.

I used to take C and E, but never felt any difference.

For colds I take Ecinacia and Goldenseal Root, plus zinc. It decimates the cold virus!

I'm listening......

Everything elseI tried (ginseng,etc.) was BOGUS!!!!

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Vitamins

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/drma...-your-eyesight

Vitamins and rolling your eyes can make you see better.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Vitamins

Many vitamin supplements contain copper, and like many toxics/trace minerals the body contains/controls in extremely minute portions are needed, but you take copper and other toxics in unatural levels every day and you're looking at trouble.

Vitamins sups are largely just another scam. A decent diet should be enuf, but balancing the load of nutrients and antioxcidents is the key and crucials like B12, omega 3's/fish oil, Niacin(B3), amino acids, many others can easily be in short supply because our foods are now so crummy. The liver's enzyme levels need to be balanced and kidney health is important. Water, the right oils, nuts/grains, greens, and fruits/anything red/blue/purple, pure yogurt, are generally great to intake, and a bit of good meats round things out well. The Med diet is awesome.

[GregLee]

Re: Vitamins

Vitamins sups are largely just another scam.

I'll go along with that, generally speaking, but there might be a few exceptions. I started taking Ocuvite, one of several "vision" supplements, after reading about the AREDS study:

May 17, 2006 – A study of multivitamin and mineral research by an independent panel organized by the National Institutes of Health, yesterday recommended high levels of antioxidants and zinc to reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the major cause of blindness in senior citizens.
Antioxidants and Zinc Reduce Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Says New Report

And there have been several favorable reports about resveratrol -- that's the stuff in red wine, except you'd have to drink an awful lot of wine to get up to the 0.5 gram dose mentioned in the following:

...But how well does resveratrol work in real people? To answer this question, a group of researchers led by Dr. Ketan R. Patel of the University of Leicester, UK, studied a group of 20 patients diagnosed with colon cancer, based on tissue biopsy. These patients consumed resveratrol at a dose of 0.5 g or 1.0 g per day for eight days before their scheduled surgery to remove the cancer. Samples of normal and malignant cells were collected both before and after dosing. ... The results indicated that these doses were sufficient to produce resveratrol levels in colon tissue in the same range as those studied in cell cultures in lab studies. In addition, researchers were able to measure a decrease in tumor cell proliferation by 5 percent after only eight days of dosing.
Resveratrol Fights Colon Cancer

[salmoned]

Re: Vitamins

Your article says if you don't have AMD, you get no benefit from the dosage. In fact, it says if you have early AMD, you get no benefit. So, I presume you either have AMD or get no benefit from your Ocuvite, eh? Too bad they didn't discuss the placebo benefit, which often affects 15 to 40% of subjects in this sort of trial - that would be a great reason to take Ocuvite ... or not.

[GregLee]

Re: Vitamins

Your article says if you don't have AMD, you get no benefit from the dosage. In fact, it says if you have early AMD, you get no benefit.

Read it more carefully. It doesn't say either of those things. It says there was a benefit found only for those at high risk for developing advanced AMD. Perhaps you assumed that people with no AMD are not at high risk for developing advanced AMD, but the article doesn't say that. The risk for developing advanced AMD can be estimated by an eye exam which looks at the "drusen" -- fatty deposits in the retina -- whether or not you have AMD.

Looking elsewhere, the most relevant thing I've found that bears on the question of preventing AMD for those who do not (yet) have it, says:

The antioxidant carotenoids--lutein and zeaxanthin--found in dark green or yellow vegetables exist in high concentrations in the macula and are hypothesised to play a protective role. Of nine controlled trials of supplementation with carotenoids and other antioxidants, three suggested that various combinations of antioxidants and carotenoids were protective. While a low-fat diet rich in dark green and yellow vegetables is advocated in general, any specific recommendations regarding certain fats or antioxidant supplementation and AMD are not based on consistent findings at this stage.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...t=AbstractPlus

[salmoned]

Re: Vitamins

"For those study participants who had either no AMD or early AMD, the nutrients did not provide an apparent benefit."

That's what it says [and that's what I said it says]. Apparently, you need to read it more carefully.