Hot on the heels of my post about 'corporate terrorism' comes a study that would set you laughing if it weren't so serious. An editorial panel of medical doctors says the case is now closed for multivitamins: they don’t help well-nourished adults. In other words, supplements are a waste of time and money! END OF STORY.
Love to know who funded this particular group to get on the anti-supplement soapbox. Hate to tell them, but there’s no way their pronouncements will reduce by even one item, my own supplement regimen which now dates back 40 years and will continue into my sunset! At the same time, leading trade associations have defended the safety and efficacy of supplements, calling the editorial, ‘close-minded, one-sided’ and ‘overblown’. That's an understatement ...
Of course the operative words in this highly questionable report are 'well-nourished adults'. Where are they I ask? Not too many of my acquaintances (young or old) would fit that bill. But seriously, for the large cohort of folk who say in all honesty 'I eat a good balanced diet' trusting the food they consume is replete in trace elements and free from all traces of chemical cocktail, trusting they are getting all the nutrients they need because the experts have spoken, this report is damaging in the extreme. And of course when those same folk turn up in the medicos’ offices for help with their acute or chronic whatevers, you can be sure only high-priced pharmaceuticals, with the likelihood of unpleasant side-effects will be on offer. Forget the diet and lifestyle counseling, forget the suggestion of a natural, safe, low-priced alternative. BIG PHARMA prevails ... unless like me, you’re laughing all the way to your supplement cabinet! Shane Starling writing at www.nutraingredients.com refutes the report very eloquently, ditto Duffy McKay from CRN who says 'while those in the ivory tower might say that people just need to eat their sardines and salads, in the real world there are nutrient gaps.'
