You don’t need your vitamins
Is nutrition a pseudo-science? As more and more evidence is presented, the theories are revisited, appraised and modified. After all, isn’t part of the scientific process to make the theory fit the facts? In the case of food, don’t be too sure.
Today’s headlines trumpet that too much of a good thing may kill you. Makes sense, except that in this case, we can remove the “too much”; it now appears that certain vitamins are actually going to shorten your life. Remove “good thing” in the same edit. The Journal of the AMA is reporting that beta carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E may increase the risk of death. Mom, put those carrots away.
Actually, the focus is on the multi-vitamin supplement market, which was just wholesale chemistry for the home user. If One-A-Day is good, then Two-A-Day is probably better. Or, how about a bowl of this; it’s chock full of vitamins and minerals. Eat sand, I reply. I’ve never embarked on the pill industry’s bandwagon. I still miss my trusty cod liver oil capsule; yummy until it broke. Other than that, let’s go with a balanced diet. Forget the vitamin C; didn’t Dr. Pauling die, just the same? The chemical industry is not always your personal friend.
Of course, the report authors hedge their bets, allowing that we can’t be sure there aren’t “other potential longer-term benefits”. If you’re dead, you can be sure that there are none. So, put away the big bottle of pills that drops onto my counter each time I open the middle cupboard. Replace it with a regular balanced diet. Repeat until death.
