We've all heard the same spiel for years.
Vitamin C to treat a cold.
Biotin for beautiful hair.
Calcium to make your bones strong.
Vitamin B12 for superhuman energy.
Vitamin companies say they're making you healthier
by giving you nutrients
that you probably aren't getting
from your diet.
But is this just another marketing ploy
intent on getting you hooked
and robbing you blind?
I'm looking at you, GOOP.
Just look at these, there's so many.
So this says
eye vitamin and mineral supplement, it has vitamin A in it.
They're still promoting the
fact that vitamin A will help you get better eyesight which is proven to not be true.
Cognizin assists with attention, begins working in about 60 minutes.
Is this proven?
Did you know more than two-thirds of Americans take dietary supplements each year.
And according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition,
dietary supplements are $122 billion industry.
There are even vitamin start ups now that determine whether you're stressed or tired
and give you herbal or vitamin supplements to cater to individual needs.
I actually have a few friends here at Mashable who swear by their multivitamins.
Let's go talk to them.
- I actually just started taking multivitamins in the last month. I feel so much better.
I actually feel better. I feel like when I would normally be getting sick. If I'm going
really hard and working my butt off normally I would feel terrible. But I feel fine.
- I take several multivitamins. I have vitamin B, vitamin E. I have a energy supplement that
I take. I do biotin and vitamin C, and all that fun stuff.
- So, I'm pregnant right now. And so I take two things. I take a multivitamin for prenatal.
And then I also take a fish oil DHA, which is supposed to promote brain health.
- So I have a problem where I take like 30 vitamins a day. And I'm a huge sucker for
things like this, where they package your vitamins for you. But I also bring my own
into the office.
- So it's pretty clear that people are convinced that their multivitamins are making them healthier.
And I confess, I take a multivitamin every day and I think I don't get sick as much.
But I couldn’t help but wonder, is it really the vitamins or a placebo effect?
You know what,
this calls for an expert's point of view.
- A lot of patient ask me this question about what supplements they should be taking or
if they should be taking any supplements. The most frustrating question for me, as a
clinician, is when patients ask me if they should be taking high doses of vitamin C to
prevent the common cold. But the truth is that there's no evidence that shows that vitamin
C decreases the duration of an illness. In fact, it actually is more likely to make your
stomach upset. It's difficult to know that what you're taking is actually what they brand
it to be. The FDA is mandated to regulate pharmaceutical drugs that are on the market
as well as the food that we can buy at the supermarkets. But they don't have strict regulations
on the supplements that are on the shelves. The only thing they require is the name of
the supplement and a disclaimer saying that it has not been tested or evaluated by the
FDA. Right now they operate on an honor code and a lot of the time it's not until something
goes wrong that they do some inspection, find out that what they have branded the supplemental
to be actually doesn't exist.
So, there are absolutely certain conditions that I recommend
my patients to take supplements, women who are around the age of menopause, if you have
certain diseases like Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, women who have heavy menstrual periods
should be taking supplements. If you're on certain medications it reduces your absorption
of other nutrients.
Here are some other ways you can get these vitamins without taking
supplements.
- Eat an orange.
- Get some sunlight.
- Eggs and soybeans.
- Milk, cheese, butter.
- Yogurt.
- Lean meat.
- Carrots and sweet potatoes.
Trust me when I say that if you have a good diet with a
lot of whole grains, greenly vegetables, citrus fruits and lean meats that you do not need
to take any supplements. In fact, it has the potentials to do more harm than good.
- At the end of the day, if taking a multivitamin really does make you feel a little healthier,
is it really that bad?
Yes, it's bad!
Since the FDA isn't going to do the work for us
and determine if the label is correct, we really don't know what goes in these vitamins.
Supplements are one of many things that experts really you want you to do your research on
because it might be a matter of life or death.
-Taylor, no!
-What the hell?
- So the next time you grab an Emergen-C or an Airborne, just know that if you have a
healthy diet, you really don't need it.
Follow the evidence, especially with stuff that you
put in your temple of a body.
You deserve it.