Santa Ana Traffic Plan and the Plight of the Commuter : Vitamin Supplements and Their Effects on Nutrition
In your article on vitamins (Oct. 3) you presented a variety of viewpoints for and against the use of vitamin-mineral supplements. I am somewhat disturbed by the fact that, whereas you obtained some professional views opposed to supplements, you only used anecdotal material from laymen to support their use.
Generally the reasons given for not using supplements is the supposed risk of toxicity and the advantages of eating a nutritionally sound diet.
The average person stands a far greater risk of an adverse reaction to a prescribed drug than of any form of toxic response in a dietary supplement. Many of the reports of vitamin toxicity in the scientific literature present cases of adverse responses to high doses of specific vitamins prescribed by physicians in treating certain disorders. Many other reports are anecdotal--if similar reports in favor of certain responses to vitamin use were published they would be strongly criticized by the medical community.
Even the known toxic fat-soluble vitamins A & D are tolerated by many individuals at megadose levels. As for typical supplements of the one- or two-a-day variety, there are no reports that I know of which show any harmful effects, even after years of use.
More important is the question of supplement usefulness. At issue here is not the adequacy of the “average” American diet--there is no average American. There are about 250 million individuals, some of whom (presumably health nuts) are eating well-balanced diets and many of whom are skipping breakfast and eating fast-food lunches and dinners which range anywhere from nutritionally sound to poor. There are millions of Americans on a calorie-restricted diet at any one time; there are millions with literally no teeth and no money for “nutrient-dense” fruits and vegetables; millions of alcoholics, and millions with no knowledge or concern for nutrition and sound eating habits. All of these people are at some risk. A person does not have to show signs of scurvy to be deficient in vitamin C.
Scientific literature indicates that large numbers of Americans are deficient in one or more nutrients. The groups most at risk appear to be the poor, the elderly and adolescents. These are not the people most easily persuaded to improve their eating habits. An educational campaign to try to accomplish this for everyone might very logically include advice on the judicious use of dietary supplements.
As you are no doubt aware, the RDAs will soon be lowered for many nutrients. This will have no real effect on the nutritional status of Americans. People eating inadequate diets will still do so. Some of them, I hope, will improve their nutrient intake with supplements. They will be better off for doing so.
BURTON KALLMAN
Costa Mesa
Kallman is standards coordinator for the National Nutritional Foods Assn.
