Although fruits and vegetables are popular these days due to cries for healthier diets, eating the recommended daily amounts may not be as easy as taking a vitamin or supplement in their place.
And Americans prefer easy.
"I don't think most people eat a diet that gives them everything they need," said Dr. Mike Jones, who practices family medicine at Enclave Family Healthcare in Owensboro, Kentucky. "They need at least five servings daily of fruit and vegetables, and most people aren't doing that."
People grab what tastes good, but is it good for them? And who wouldn't want to take a vitamin or two if it offset the effects of eating yummy, fat-filled, nutritionless food?
"You generally get everything you need in a well-balanced diet," Jones said. "But the western diet doesn't, generally, lend itself very well to getting everything that would be beneficial.
"Years ago, somebody isolated the active ingredient in broccoli that gave the majority of its health benefits. Not long after that, I went into (a health-food store) and saw this compound had been pressed into a capsule and had a picture of broccoli on the bottle.
"Rather than take what is made by God and packaged in broccoli that your body absorbs, creating health benefits from the mingling of things that are contained in broccoli, they extracted that (one ingredient) and put it in a capsule and people bought it."
Jones encourages people to lead a healthier lifestyle and not rely on a pill, even if it is a vitamin. He said rather than take an acid reducer for the stomach, a person should quit smoking since smoking increases acid production.Gene Clark, owner of Gene's Health Food, said many people buy supplements at his Owensboro store."My theory is that we can't get all the nutrients we need from the food that's available," Clark said. "The growing and shipping process, and the length of time from harvest to table, has changed dramatically."A number of people raise some garden plants, but not near enough to take care of all their needs," he said.Jones said that eating healthy and taking a multivitamin should be all a person needs, although some people have vitamin deficiencies that may require supplements. Folic acid, for example, is key for women in child-bearing years."Neural tube defects are caused, at least partially, by deficiencies in folic acid," he said. "That one's been well-studied and we can say pretty much without reservation that it's important to get enough folic acid, 400 micrograms a day."And there's another health benefit with folic acid, like lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease."Folic acid is also said to diminish the risk of certain cancer cells, Jones said, while high blood pressure and hearing loss can also be related to folic acid deficiencies.
Jones said low levels of vitamin D are a concern with osteoporosis. Milk and sunshine provide vitamin D, but Jones said milk doesn't necessarily have enough, despite companies' claims that it's "vitamin D-fortified," and sometimes people don't get outdoors enough."Then if you get too much sun, you could get melanoma," he said.Jones recommends 400 units of vitamin D daily, although some older female patients may require more units.Vitamin A is good for vision health, although it also "has significant implications in cardiovascular disease, and a healthy immune system," Jones said.Vitamin E has been "studied to death and is used in treating everything from hair loss to toenail fungus," Jones said. "It's been involved in studies for stroke, dementia, immune system, infections and blood clots."Vitamin E is necessary, but it's never been a magic bullet for anything."Jones said vitamin C has been implicated in the prevention of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, strokes, cataracts and some development of macular degeneration."So eat an orange, or take a vitamin C tablet," he said. "It's a good one to supplement on. You can't overdose on it."Vitamin B6 is used for certain types of cancers, and vitamin B12 is used when people have anemia or fatigue.
For his patients with high cholesterol, Jones recommends 1,000 milligrams of fish oil twice a day, although that's not all he treats them with. Also, red yeast rice may be helpful if a patient has high cholesterol, he said."They're not vitamins, but supplements that actually do have a little bit of evidence of being helpful beyond just anecdotal evidence," Jones said.Clark, who has been in business 30 years, said he doesn't "prescribe" products as a physician might, but encourages customers to read responsible articles or research, and make informed decisions.He said he sells a lot of multivitamins and vitamin C."We sell a lot of products for women's health, like black cohosh, which is a popular herb for hot flashes or mood swings," Clark said. "If people have enough patience to take it long enough. Sometimes it takes up to three months, but generally, it works sooner than that."
