OT: Multivitamins waste of money

Even in Australia there is a percentage of the population who have low vit D levels. I am one of them.

For many years we have been getting conflicting views. Stay out of the sun because of skin cancer, but then go into the sun for vit d.

mgaggie wrote:Even in Australia there is a percentage of the population who have low vit D levels. I am one of them.

For many years we have been getting conflicting views. Stay out of the sun because of skin cancer, but then go into the sun for vit d.

And then there's next weeks headlines, medical science proves Vit D supplements cause skin cancer. That way everyones resurchase is paid for and no one is out of a job. jim

Goofproof wrote:

mgaggie wrote:Even in Australia there is a percentage of the population who have low vit D levels. I am one of them.

For many years we have been getting conflicting views. Stay out of the sun because of skin cancer, but then go into the sun for vit d.

And then there's next weeks headlines, medical science proves Vit D supplements cause skin cancer. That way everyones resurchase is paid for and no one is out of a job. jim

LOL Jim, that is exactly what will happen.

49er

I understand the cynicism but, to be fair, there hasn't been any flip flopping in the medical community on the issue of D deficiency. The people telling you to stay out of the sun aren't saying that vitamin D is bad for you. They are only concerned with skin cancer. At this point, there is uncertainty about the effects and seriousness of vitamin D deficiency but there's no doubt that many of us are deficient and no one is saying that this is good for you or even ok for that matter. For now, at least, supplementation is the easiest and most practical way to deal with it. There are differences of opinion on how much to take and on the optimum blood serum level but this will come together with more study. The only downside is the remote risk of toxicity. Monitoring is important to avoid this possibility.

For now, I take 2000IU daily (probably inadequate) and nothing else. IMHO, I get all the other vitamins I need from my diet which includes plenty of fresh produce, readily available in abundance here in Toronto shipped in daily from southern climes, albeit at higher cost than during the summer. I am surprised to hear that this is not the case in Edmonton but I can't speak from experience as I've never lived there.

SleepyBobR wrote:
For now, I take 2000IU daily (probably inadequate) and nothing else. IMHO, I get all the other vitamins I need from my diet which includes plenty of fresh produce, readily available in abundance here in Toronto shipped in daily from southern climes, albeit at higher cost than during the summer. I am surprised to hear that this is not the case in Edmonton but I can't speak from experience as I've never lived there.

Yes they ship it to Edmonton. But the price is much higher and it takes longer to get here so it will have lost more of its nutrients. I was shocked at the prices when I moved back here from Montreal. I am paying 1-2 dollars more per item here then in Montreal but, unlike in the early 80's when I moved here the first time, the stuff doesn't look like it belongs in the compost bin. To eat organic you need to win the lottery. And even then Edmonton fresh fruits and vegetables are cheap to what my daughter up in Whitehorse,Yukon pays and if the Al-Can gets blocked, like last spring, they are non existent.