Vitamins

Written by: Darshana Sugathan
Edited by: Julia Wolfe
Joboja Staff Writers

One day I realized: I don’t feel healthy and fit when I wake up in the morning. That day I decided to boost up my antibodies and refresh my immune system. The first step was obviously to google.

What I found left me with a dilemma. Two categories of articles engaged in tug of war. One category highlighted the benefits of vitamin pills; the other accused them of being ineffective and at times harmful.

Dr. Jane Armtiage from the University of Oxford’s clinical trial services unit said a 5-year study had produced disappointing results for vitamin use. The study said that millions of people taking daily doses of vitamins C&E and beta carotene are not protecting themselves from cancer, heart problems, strokes and other potentially fatal disease. The scientists said people would be better off eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

Contradicting that study, British Heart Protection Study followed 20,000 people aged 40 to 80 from 69 British Hospitals, looking at vitamins as well as the effect of cholesterol-lowering statins. They found that cholesterol-lowering drugs worked within a year and had major effects within 5 years.

According to the New Scientist, “vitamins knock the wind out of free radicals in a test tube. But once inside the human body they seem strangely powerless.”

Other information noted that a Vitamin D tablet called Asentar provides levels of vitamin D 50-100 times higher than normal and can be given to patients in the advanced stages of prostrate cancer along with chemotherapy drugs. Vitamins C, E and A prevent cancer, heart diseases, stroke and variety of other ailments associated with natural ageing.

If you are tempted to take action when you see “Vitamins reduces heart risk, vitamin D reduces risk of diabetes….”, sit back and think, research and then decide. Don’t put your body, health and “the feeling good factor” in danger.