Vitamins, Do They Work?

[woodelf]

A month or so ago, when Vitamin D was all the rage and the sun was absent, I thought I'd go and buy some Vitamin D but, would you know it, they had all been sold, so I bought some multi-vitamins including Vitamin D, but how do I/we know vitamins work and do they work?...what are the signs that they do work? Ta Muchly.

[Sqad]

If you are fit and eating a healthy diet....you don't need vitamins.
If blood tests show vitamin defy e.g B12 then take and it works.
Take Vit D.
Take Zinc.......although it isn't strictly a vitamin.

The rest....dump them and that includes multivitamins.

[pastafreak]

*If* you are eating a healthy diet.
But,what's that? How many of us actually do?

[anneasquith]

Indeed pasta, and the sun can be a rare sight in some parts of Britain.

[Kathyan]

But surely if you've got a vit B12 deficiency just taking vit B12 doesn't work? I know I have to have an injection every 12 weeks to keep mine levels up!

[Sqad]

pasta....fruit, veg, carbohydrates, fats .....
annAsquith....that is why I said ViD
Kathryn.....you injection IS Vitamin B12

[woofgang]

Kathyan, some people can’t absorb from their diet and then injections are needed.

[NoMercy]

Yes they work.

Rheumatologist might prescribe calcium and vitamin D if you are mildly osteopaenic on bone densitometry.

Iron is prescribed I'd you are anaemic.

If you feel your diet is lacking certain nutrients, supplementation is entirely reasonable.

Multi vitamins taken for the sake of it are a waste of time however.

[Islay]

I take forceval which is a prescription strength multivitamin and then every 3 months I have a vitB12 injection and take daily supplements of calcium and iron. I would not be able to function without them.

[pastafreak]

As we get older our bodies don't absorb nutrients as well.
I take vitamin d, B complex( recommended many years ago for stress and anxiety),and magnesium(recommended for migraine)...Also modern day soils are depleted of minerals,so we don't get benefits that are optimistically claimed)

[Sqad]

pasta....where do you get that information from?
"As we got older, we don't absorb vitamins as well????"
Who said? What evidence is there for this.?
"The soil is not as enriched as it was?".Where do you get that from?
You want to take supplements, you can afford them and you feel they are keeping you healthy....that is fine.

[Kathyan]

Yes Sqad, but you said 'take' which I took to mean tablet form! And woofgang, I know because I have them!

[Sqad]

Kathryn....right.....I should have made it clear by using the word "administer".

[Kathyan]

I'm glad we cleared that up! ;)

[pastafreak]

Some reading for you sqad...

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/opinion/sunday/breeding-the-nutrition-out-of-our-food.html?pagewanted=all&

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK51837/
^^^see page 3

[Old_Geezer]

Do check that they aren't just passing through you ;-)

[Sqad]

"It would be overkill to say that the carrot you eat today has very little nutrition in it—"

“Vegetables are extraordinarily rich in nutrients and beneficial phytochemicals,"

Written by a certainly biased "Friends of the Earth".

The second link is again, opinion which is based upon studies that have not been linked.

The third link was long, involved and i frankly couldn't keep up.
None of the links have changed my mind.

[Buenchico]

The NHS website is a good source of information. Here's what it says about Vitamin D:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Vitamin-D.aspx

I take a daily multi-vitamin tablet, simply because I suspect that I need more Vitamin D and I know (from problems earlier in my life) that my body is slow to absorb Vitamin B. It's cheaper to get those vitamin through multi-vitamin tablets than by purchasing separate tablets.

I also take garlic tablets as their antibiotic/anti-inflammatory effects seem to help with some skin problems I've got.

[theprof]

pastafreak, there is no evidence that we absorb vitamins less in advanced age. There is also no evidence that soil is not as enriched as it was. The latter statement addressed to a scientist would elicit a response enquiring exactly when was "was". When does "was" begin?

Not to put too fine a point on it, the links you provided are largely opinion and have no foundation. The NCBI article has been written for those with more than a basic knowledge of biochemistry and biotechnology and involve methods and conclusions that are readily misinterpreted by the public.

Be aware that NCBI relies on peer review of published papers and one cannot cite the information within one article and conclude that the article is correct. In fact, I've read the entire article through and I'm sorry to say that it's quite simplistic and doesn't provide a reliable insight into either nutrition in the elderly or vitamin utilisation. Furthermore, there are some pretty fundamental errors in the article.

I earned a few bob for around 18 years reviewing a NCBI articles. This article would have fallen within my remit and it fails to overly impress.

[theprof]

woodelf, it's very unlikely you will know if the multivitamins you take work. If you have a specific deficiency of one or more, then take the necessary vitamin daily at the recommended RDA or higher if advised by a physician. I agree with taking the nutrient zinc along with Vitamin D. Ensure that the Vitamin D is in the form of D3 rather than D2 for maximum benefit.

Multivitamins are a waste of money and unnecessary.

The concept of someone is supplementing their nutritional intake because they "feel" that their diet is lacking in certain nutrients leaves me speechless.