This assumes 1) you are getting tested regularly for vitamin deficiency, 2) that your doctor is reading the tests properly, and 3) that your doctor knows to prescribe vitamin supplements instead of some drug that was pushed on them by a pharmaceutical sales rep.
1 Like
Thank Linus Pauling.
Smart people can be idiots too.
8 Likes
12 Likes
The unregulated nature of supplements carries an additional kicker-people who have been told by their doctors to take supplements such as vitamin D have no good way to know which of the products on the shelf will actually deliver what they need. Insurance often won’t cover more than a months worth prescription vitamin pills, so people are left hoping that what they buy will do them any good.
And check out the stories about melatonin-it’s now being marketed to parents who want their kids to have a “good” sleep schedule. Some of the pills have been found to have way more than the label says. Enough that it’s toxic to kids. But the manufacturers seem to be safe from legal action because the product is unregulated.
3 Likes
None of that means you should take medications (vitamins are medications) on your own, just for the heck of it or because you think you need it based on a lay opinion. Your doctor will check for deficiencies in response to symptoms of same. You don’t need to be regularly checked. If you have a deficiency, you’ll have symptoms.
3 Likes
I basically sussed this out on my own the first time I tried taking one of those daily multivitamins that has multiple thousands of the RDV of various vitamins and minerals, and it turned my pee a brilliant neon green. I knew enough biology to realize I just pissed away basically the entirety of the vitamins I had swallowed a few hours earlier.
7 Likes
That’s really amazing someone sued over that, and great they won. These things should be clearly labeled, “this item has no health benefits” or “this is not a medical product” or something like that.
They are required to put “This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease” clearly visible on the package as part of complying with the FDA supplement loophole. That language is code for “this product is bullshit” but unfortunately people don’t generally know that.
4 Likes
My standard answer when parents ask me about giving their kids multivitamins is “well, it’s most likely not gonna hurt them, just give them really expensive pee and make the drug companies rich.” I do, however, qualify that by adding that here, vit D deficiency is almost universal unless you spend a lot of time outdoors and don’t use sunscreen, but that’s a whole other discussion.
13 Likes
I will second that vitamin D is the one big exception, both because deficiency is so common and the symptoms are so easy to miss.
Granted it’s still good to get checked and have your doctor tell you your dose, I’ve had a partner and a friend who both needed particularly high doses. But my partner would not even have thought to ask if not for that friend, even though the deficiency was serious.
He was already getting treated for depression but no one thought to make sure his vitamin D wasn’t also super low, which it was.
8 Likes
Our pediatrician made it clear the multi would be mostly to help me stop worrying about her not getting enough nutrients. That kind of attention to what she’s eating and not eating isn’t healthy for either of us
5 Likes
That’s my other line. “As long as you understand that this treating you, it’s fine.”
5 Likes
That “warning” is laughable. It appears in tiny print on the bottom of the screen while a TV huckster tells you what’s wrong with you, badgers you to treat yourself by taking their concoction, and assures you that it will cure your condition. But posting the “warning” makes everything all right.
3 Likes
1 Like
Ah, but that’s so you don’t overdo it by taking too little. They should warn you that if you take half a pill you end up becoming practically superhuman.
3 Likes
Mitch Horowitz is going to be furious.
1 Like
Homeopathic treatments are super effective at parting fools from their money. It’s what Capitalist God wants.
2 Likes
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
