I agree with everything you said in your post. Be careful about this one, though. The value of nutritional supplements can't be understated, IMO. And I take several a day (a multivitamin, carotenoids, an immune booster for the winter months, and omega-3s).RosemaryB wrote:When it comes to treatments that are safe (like many supplements), I'm inclined to try it for a while and see. I do a lot of checking first, to look for interactions, etc. Now someone is after the supplement companies. They say that supplements are not safe. There are very few reports (usually those are reported over and over). A safety problem usually arises when a person takes the supplement in the wrong way (like a whopping big dose) and a few times when there have been quality control problems. However, look at the number of people who take supplements and have adverse reactions vs the number who have them from prescription drugs and you will see that the drugs are killing people right and left compared to the supplements.
At the same time, there are plenty of things you need to keep in mind with vitamins just like anything else we put in our body. There are several ways that vitamins can cause problems, and not just through interactions with medications or overdoses. For example, I have to watch my Iron levels or they'll get too high--the opposite problem of anemia that you hear often. Even a regular dose of iron can kill me slowly because I have a genetic mutation that causes my system to load iron (hemochromotosis). It builds up in the organs and causes any number of problems that can kill. So the multivitamin I take has no iron it. I also have to be careful not to take any vitamin C supplements, even in what's considered a regular dose, during iron-rich meals, since it enhances iron absorption.
My point is that, while I'm a strong believer in preventative healthcare through whatever means are appropriate--be it vitamins, Chinese herbs, acupuncture, etc.--we should still always be mindful of what we're putting in our body. A good doctor will ask what prescription, non-prescription, and vitamins you take on a regular basis.
Doug.
