Supplements or food: the great debate

The question of supplementation keeps popping up and it’s time to add my two cents to the discussion. I listened to a radio talk show the other day that had a doctor on as the guest. The subject was mainly supplements versus food. This doctor, who was a family physician – I couldn’t find any credentials pertaining to nutrition – was anti-supplement. He believes that we should get our nutrients from food and supplements are a scam. He says many studies have shown that vitamins are not effective. He says there is no evidence that taking vitamins does any good for healthy people. 

The doctor was talking about the general population. He says “if you are not deficient, there is no need to take vitamins”. Fair enough. But how do you know if you deficient? Most people don’t know. The only way to know for sure is to have a blood test. When callers would ask “If I am eating right, do I need to take supplements?”the doctor would answer, no. I can tell you most people I talk to about nutrition, think they are eating well, and most people are not. Eating right is a pretty broad and subjective statement. They say they feel fine. It is worth remembering that most diseases present themselves once they are in the advanced stages.

On the other side of the debate, there are those who say that you can’t get all your nutrients from food; you would have to eat too much to get the requirements. They see supplements as their insurance that they are getting all the nutrients their body needs. In more extreme cases, eating whatever you want and then taking multivitamins with the idea that they are keeping you balanced, is a mistaken notion. It is true that your body processes whole foods with complete vitamins and enzymes contained in the food intact much better than it can process vitamins removed from their original source. But it is not the whole story.

 

The problem is that even when you do eat properly – that is, you consume plenty of vegetables and fruit every day, you may still be deficient in certain nutrients because of the degradation of the food supply. In the old days, cows grazed on grass, chickens were free to roam and lived outdoors, and vegetables were grown in pesticide-free, nutrient-rich soils. Today’s food supply is devoid of the adequate nutrients required to replenish our body’s depleted cells. In addition, every human being is exposed to radiation from cell phones, WiFi, computers and x-rays. Add to that the environmental chemicals from plastics, phthalates, pesticides, herbicides, GMOs and additives, and you have toxic overload.

Unless someone is growing their own vegetables in a nutrient-rich garden, has their own farm with grass-fed cows and free-range chickens and a toxic-free fish pond, it is impossible to obtain all of the required nutrients from food. 
 
I can tell you from personal experience, it is possible to manipulate your blood levels of certain nutrients by taking supplements. I have altered my vitamin D, B12, and iron by altering my intake of vitamins. I know this because my blood tests reveal the levels change as I increase or decrease my vitamin intake. For example, I went from a ferritin level of 28 to 547 by taking 300 mg iron pills with vitamin C (to increase absorption). I stopped taking iron until it came back down to 300. I can’t tell any difference in the way I feel. The way you feel is not a reliable indicator of deficiency or sufficiency. You need to have your blood tested. I felt the same at 28 as I did at 547.

By now you might have guessed where I stand on this issue. I believe we should all do our best to eat a balanced diet of whole foods. And take a vitamin and mineral supplement to address deficiencies. If you don’t know your deficiencies, take a good quality multi-vitamin. The definition of the word supplement is enough to make you realize it’s not either or: “Something added to complete a thing, make up for a deficiency, or extend or strengthen the whole.”