Finally The FDA Finds That Supplemental Vitamins—”can be useful”
Posted on 23. Oct, 2009 by Kerry D Friesen, M.D. in Brain Health, Men's Health, Women's Health
Earlier this month the Food And Drug Administration released a consumer advisory regarding the use of supplemental vitamins. To everyone’s surprise the advisory admitted that vitamins “can be useful” and that “there are many good reasons” to consider taking them! As a physician that practices “preventing” medicine, I couldn’t agree more.
Vitamins are and always will be, vital for life. We cannot in fact live without them.
Both vitamins and minerals are essential cofactors responsible for the myriad of chemical reactions that we refer to as “life.”
Nutrigenomics is a new discipline that seeks to understand diet-related disease by tracing the signaling pathways that occur within a cell when triggered by specific nutrients that in turn, activate our genes that then code for the proteins that keep us alive.
As the chart illustrates, nutrition, genetics and molecular biology figure prominently in understanding how vitamins prevent or at the very least ameliorate disease.
The Right Vitamin For The Right Reason
According to Barbara Schneeman, PhD, the director of FDA’s Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling, and Dietary Supplements, “Supplements can be useful when they fulfill a specific identified nutrient need that can’t be met by food or is not being met through normal food intake.”
Here are some of the recommendations in the FDA’s Fortify Your Knowledge About Vitamins advisory:
You should consider taking a vitamin supplement if,
- you adhere to a vegan or vegetarian diet
- you are pregnant or breastfeeding
- you are over the age of 50
- you have a specific health condition
Admittedly, choosing the right supplement can be difficult.
However, certain supplements including B12, Vitamin D3 and polyphenols (the “active” ingredient in medicinal foods) can be generally recommended.
Consider your diet, lifestyle and age when making a decision. Or you might even consider asking your doctor.
If you have a specific supplement-related question, leave a comment and I will be happy to help!
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