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- Hi there, I'm Jonathan and welcome to Brain Stuff.
Now if you're like me, you grew up being taught
that taking your vitamins was an important part
of a balanced, healthy life.
The alternative is to eat exactly the right amount of foods
to supply your body with the recommended daily value
of nutrients.
And who wants to do all that work
when you can just swallow a pill?
Or even better, chew on a block of sugar shaped
like your favorite cartoon character.
But are supplemental vitamins helpful?
Does a vitamin a day truly keep you healthy to play?
Well first, let's get a simple understanding
of how vitamins work.
They're really just small molecules that our bodies need
to carry out certain reactions.
Unfortunately, our bodies don't make vitamins themselves,
so we need to eat food that contains
these important molecules.
60 years ago, the first multivitamin became available
on the American market.
Basically, this is a pill that contains at least 10 vitamins
and 10 minerals to supplement our diet.
Now millions of adults and children devour these pills
every day, spending $12 billion a year on them.
If you don't have the time to gather fresh fruit,
vegetables, and grains every day,
then you're probably taking a multivitamin.
But several recent studies have shown that there
are some negative effects to be aware of
when taking multivitamins.
For instance, less than half the multivitamins
sold in the United States and Canada actually
contain what their labels say.
Sometimes they'll have too much of a supplement,
like a children's vitamin that had 216% the amount
of vitamin A listed.
Now that, my friends, are just the multivitamins
that are mislabeled.
Some experts believe that we don't always gain
benefits from vitamins unless they are absorbed
into our body along with the other compounds
found in their natural form.
So, maybe Vitamin C doesn't really work
unless you digest it with an orange.
Also, supplement research is really difficult to gauge
because each of us eats an incredibly broad variety
of foods that can either help or hinder the absorption
of vitamins.
Not to mention that the Food and Drug Administration
doesn't require these supplements
to go through the same scrutiny for safety and efficacy
that it does for, say, medicine or drugs.
The more we look into it, the more it seems that
multivitamins have no substantial health benefits,
or that their benefits are too small
to make much of a difference.
Let's look at a few examples of how this plays out,
starting with folic acid.
This is one of those supplements originally thought
to protect the heart and prevent cancer.
Now based on a 2008 study out of Harvard,
it turns out that too much folic acid
may instead promote prostate and colorectal cancer.
And because food companies add it to grain products,
most of us already are getting our daily value's worth.
But what about Vitamin C?
You know, the one we're supposed to take
when we get sick?
Well, if you eat foods that are rich in Vitamin C,
it can lower your risk of heart disease and cancer,
but if you simply take it in pill form,
it seems to have no benefits.
Another vitamin that supposedly prevented
heart disease and cancer is Vitamin E.
But again, that's only in its natural form,
and that's seeds and vegetable oils,
where it can also strengthen the immune system.
As a supplement, there's no evidence that Vitamin E
provides any of its natural benefits.
Vitamin A, it's very similar in that it doesn't
actually prevent lung cancer as it's advertised.
In fact, large doses actually increase the risk
of lung cancer in smokers.
Now most of us are already getting plenty of Vitamin A
anyway in eggs, whole milk, dark, leafy veggies,
and orange or yellow fruits.
B Vitamins were originally though to help people
with Alzheimer's Disease, or even raise your energy levels.
But the trial results have been disappointing
with no real evidence that it does either.
But B12 is one of the vitamins that can help
supplement an unbalanced diet.
It's good for strict vegetarians who aren't
getting everything they need from animal-derived food.
But otherwise, you don't really need it
unless you're pregnant or facing macular degeneration
from old age.
Finally, let's look at Vitamin D.
You know, the one we get from the sun?
There's still hope that it can help with osteoporosis,
but the data is inconclusive since everyone gets different
amounts of sun exposure.
If you're already getting a decent amount of mid-day
sun exposure and regularly consume foods
like fatty fish, eggs, and fortified dairy products,
you probably don't need a D supplement.
Perhaps, in the future, with a little forward thinking,
we'll be able to just pop a pill personally tailored
to our nutrition, but as it stands today,
your best bet is still just eat a balanced diet.
However, this doesn't mean you should run home
and pour all your multivitamins down the toilet.
Just do a little research on what your body needs
and whether the pill you're taking is actually necessary.
With so much evidence stacked against vitamin supplements,
why do you think we still take them all the time?
Let us know what you think in the comments below,
or head over to brainstuffshow.com to join the conversation.
And please, subscribe to our channel on YouTube.
It would make me the happiest boy in the world.
Twinkle.