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When you look at
it objectively, the daily vitamin pill is no
substitute for a well structured and put
together diet but as we all know, none of us
are perfect when it comes to a healthy
intake and sensible eating.
We all know (or
should do by now) about the usefulness of
eating “all our greens”, other vegetables,
whole grain this and that but lets be honest
the pressure of everyday life does tend to
make it slightly difficult at times and
convenience can be a mighty useful lure if
we are not careful.
Enter stage
left, the Multivitamin. This type of pill is
almost too good not to appear as at least
partial protection from our dietary lapses.
It is almost too easy to act as a way to add
surplus vitamins and minerals to our diets
when we are lacking or are deficient in
certain types of Vitamins or Minerals.
If you look at
it objectively, by definition, Vitamins are
organic (that is to say, carbon based)
compounds needed in only small amounts.
Minerals serve a similar purpose to Vitamins
but the difference is that Minerals are
inorganic. The upshot of all of this is that
historically, correct nutritional planning
was all about ensuring that we were never
deficient in certain types of vitamins that
could increase our exposure to disease,
hence the concept of vitamin fortification,
that is to say the addition of nutrients,
chiefly vitamins to our food supply. The
logic was that if we could correctly control
the amounts of vitamins and minerals our
dietary requirements needed then in certain
cases and with certain vitamins and minerals
if we increased that intake then we might
find ourselves being given additional
protection against conditions such as Heart
Disease and/or Cancer.
The daily
vitamin pill is our nutritional insurance
policy that says (some say, more in hope
than actuality) if we take enough we are
more than guaranteed Good Health……or so we
thought.
The trouble was
that in 2005 researchers at John Hopkins
University published a whole series of
reports that found rather disappointing
results by and largely to do with the intake
of Vitamin E. Indeed their findings went as
far as to say that in certain cases, large
daily doses (400 IU and over) actually went
as far as increasing the risk of Mortality.
This was followed in 2006 with the results
published in the New England Journal of
Medicine of a study by and largely to do
with the intake of Vitamin B. The study
showed that despite the various properties
that the Vitamin B types displayed, they
were no more likely to reduce the incidence
of Heart Attacks or other cardiovascular
problems than the placebos given as part of
the same study.
Perhaps it is
all in the mind, perhaps therein lays the
real benefit of the Multivitamin Pill. The
psychological prop that we all need from
time to time to help us through our weakest
moments and our darkest of Hours. Who knows?
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