PERSONAL HEALTH : The ABCs of Taking Vitamin Supplements
Popping a vitamin pill is as natural a habit as toothbrushing for legions of Americans. By 1992, U.S. vitamin sales will reach nearly $6 billion, according to marketing analysts, despite some softening of demand.
Skeptics say it’s an unnecessary habit--even potentially hazardous if taken to extremes.
Proponents say regular intake of supplemental vitamins is especially vital, since hectic life styles make it difficult to eat a balanced diet. They say supplements can also help ward off colds and other ills.
The question’s been debated for years, and there’s still no consensus. Is taking vitamins a waste of time and money? Here are two experts’ views:
* YES: Dr. Fredrick Stare, professor of nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health.
“Vitamins are a waste for the majority of Americans. Nobody in my family takes them, nor do I know any colleagues who do. The average person has an adequate diet. The focus should be on eating a variety of foods from what we call the basic four food groups (milk products, meat/poultry, vegetables/fruits and breads/cereals) and maintaining variety within the basic four.”
Exercise can’t hurt either, he says. “The trouble is, most people consume too many calories in relation to their physical activity.
“You can live a long life without vitamins. The last time I took vitamins was as a medical school student--and then only because they were free samples.”
* NO: Dr. Gershon M. Lesser, Los Angeles internist and preventive health advocate.
“The average person, conscious of the need to reduce daily caloric intake for weight maintenance and better health, is not likely to take in adequate levels of needed vitamins and minerals on a daily basis. For example, a woman needs 18 milligrams of iron a day (although the current RDA specifies 15 milligrams). A typical diet provides only about 6 milligrams per 1,000 calories, which means an average woman must consume 3,000 calories a day, or twice the ideal. To complicate matters, food has been aged, packaged, processed and bankrupted of its nutritive value.
“Numerous studies have shown that appropriate doses of Vitamins A, C, D and E protect against cancer, slow the aging process and heighten immune system functioning, and that nearly 30% to 50% of us are deficient in one or more of these vitamins at any given time. Vitamins aren’t a substitute for good nutrition. They are just good insurance.”
