Vitamins and Supplements

Let me start by saying that vitamins/supplements ARE beneficial and CAN act as preventatives and the treatment of many ailments, particularly in specific situations. But that's essentially where the truth about them ends.

Vitamins and supplements are not regulated by the FDA (which the speaker actually says is a good thing). Each brand does not have to be bio equivalent like regulated medications so consumers must be informed before tossing back bottles of pills! This is true of prescription medication as well, it baffles me how many people have no idea what medications they take or what they do.

I worked as a pharm tech through college and it opened my eyes on a lot of information and even more MISinformation regarding prescription meds as well as supplements. But I digress.

As a consumer, anyone taking supplements needs to watch out for false marketing and quality control. Read the labels, people!! Understand what you're taking!! Once you learn just the most basic information you will realize how WRONG this movie is. I actually find it very upsetting because there are so many inaccurate statements and even DANGEROUS suggestions.

Most vitamins are water soluble, so they're relatively safe in general, even in large quantities, because you basically just pee out what your body doesn't need. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble, so large quantities can absolutely be dangerous. One speaker in this movie specifically talks about D and E being helpful in large doses. This statement is sort of true, but taking them in large doses should be prescribed by a doctor and the larger dose should be of the FDA approved prescription type, NOT just tossing back a handful of drugstore pills.

Vitamin K is potassium. This is pretty common knowledge, but many people don't know that potassium chloride is the drug used to stop the heart in lethal injections. Now that's not exactly the same as Vitamin Vitamin K, but I think it's a good example of different drug compounds can be harmful, especially in high doses as this movie pushes.

I haven't even begun to discuss how drug interactions and contraindications can affect how vitamins and supplements can very dangerously affect the body.

The misinformation in this movie regarding vitamins and supplements is appalling. Do some research and understand any medication you put in or on your body. This is a decent reference for what I've discussed here: http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm109760.htm

The final thing I want to mention is that there ARE doctors of natural medicine, whom this movie specifically says do not exist. If you don't want to use prescription medication m, you have so many other options (i.e. Eastern medicine, physical manipulation, acupuncture, etc). Just don't believe everything you see or hear. Before making healthcare decisions, understand what it is you are using and stay informed of any updates on these medications and/or techniques. Good luck on your quest for health.

~I wish we'd had a laugh but you're just not funny~