Codie, that article is weak and the response below is much stronger:
Dave Causey Wrote:
Point 1. This article slants toward the opinion that supplements are dangerous. “and in some cases may even cause harm” I agree, taking anything blindly can be harmful. However...
Point 2. The percentage of the US population that takes supplements is 50-70%. The percentage of the US population that takes pharmaceuticals is less than the health-nuts; it’s around 30-50%. The reported cases of “death” (not just having an adverse reaction) due to pharmaceuticals are in the hundreds of thousands, each year. The number of “deaths” due to supplements is typically zero. Do people have sometimes adverse effects from taking supplements, sure they do. But do they die from them? Typically not! C’mon people.
Point 3. Do supplements help the body? Yes and No. Synthetic (chemically produced) vitamins are low cost but have minimal bioavailability. Naturally sourced are higher cost but act as food so better absorption for the body. Here’s a rub, network marketing companies e.g. Mannatech, Juice Plus, USANA Health Sciences cost even more because they pay commissions to their independent distributors, but have some good products because the focus is to produce a higher quality product which is intended to enable the body utilize the nutrient value even more.
Point 4.Do we need to take supplements? My opinion is yes. Our fruit and vegetable food supply does not have the same nutritional content like it use to due to less organics in the soil due to corporate ag businesses that use added chemicals (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) minimal nutrients in order to grow produce as quick as possible, look as perfect as it can and have a longer shelf life. IT”S A BUSINESS and the purpose of a business is to MAKE MONEY! Now add the global produce that is picked green, shipped longer distances (versus the local farm to market time) and the consumer is eating perfect looking products that are lacking nutrition. Example, do a taste test with an out of the country tomato and one you’ve grown yourself that reached a vine ripened maturity.
Point 5. Do supplements work? I take supplements and I try to eat healthy, too. But what happened with me is I can’t drink regular coffee anymore. I get heartburn, that acidy stomach feeling and too much and I’m jittery or up all night. So I switched to a “Healthier” coffee that has a “Health Herb” in it and all I know is I’m not affected by the caffeine (no crash or jitters) and I don’t get heartburn. So yeah, supplements do work. Just like drugs do too, except I don’t expect to have a fatal reaction to my “healthier” coffee.
Any comments?
