Should we take vitamins?



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The presence of vitamins in foods was not discovered until the early 1900s, and since then humans have been trying to find a way to replicate them as pills.

The craze for vitamins began to take off in the 1960s "There was this utopian dream that we could just eat white bread and then take vitamins and everyone would have perfect health", said Dr. Derek Muller, science professor, at news.com.au

But despite their growing popularity – which has seen them add to almost everything, including water – science is starting to rethink their value.

Dr. Muller, who is the creator of the popular YouTube channel Veritasium, studied vitamins and if they are really good for humans in a new documentary Vitamania: meaning and nonsense of vitamins . "For me, the interest in vitamins goes back to seeing products like vitamin water and vitamin" I thought to myself, "It's just nonsense." It's like s & dquo; They used the polish of science as a marketing tool. As a scientist, I found this absurd and I want everyone to think about it more critically.

Dr. Muller is not trying to demystify vitamins and he says that they can improve people's health in some cases

. is the boy from Perth who almost became blind because of his difficult eating habits – he would eat nothing but chicken, potatoes, bread and coca – which resulted in vitamin deficiency A.

"But the big question is whether we should take vitamin pills at all"

Dr. Muller explores this question in his documentary. , which will be screened in sessions around Australia between July 28th and August 3rd.

"There was this wishful thinking that we could have perfect nutrition, but if you look at an apple – which has a lot of different phytochemicals – the concept that we can distill the molecules we need and just take those that was the wrong approach, "he said." It's a humiliating exercise for science. "

In fact, it has been found that eating fruits and vegetables is much better than taking a pill with a single vitamin because it is often the combination of compounds found in an apple.This creates health benefits.

"Food has so much more than just these particular molecules," said the Dr. Muller. "The idea of ​​simply taking vitamins is a bit silly. In truth, vitamins always come from our food.

"The good thing to do is to get all your vitamins out of your food.Although this is not always possible, it makes you think more about your diet than your pharmacy." [19659003] Nowadays, Dr. Muller said that there were about 85,000 vitamin products on the market and that people were spending about 100 billion Dr. Muller said, "We are watching a billion people who regularly take vitamins or supplements, that's a lot, "adds Dr. Muller.

Things like folic acid are even added to commercial white bread in Australia. Vitamin, which is essential for development of healthy babies, before they realize that they are pregnant.

Dr. Muller did not specifically examine the harmful effects of excessive vitamin intake, but stated that there was no doubt about the vi For example, some people think that vitamin C can cure cancer, although there is no scientific evidence to support it.

"I believe in America about 10,000 people treat them." There are doctors who are trying to understand if vitamin C is helpful in curing cancer, but the truth is we do not know and there is "Meanwhile, there are 10,000 people injecting themselves, which can be toxic."

Even the idea that vitamin C could cure colds had been debunked roughly

. "has almost no effect," he said, "at best, zinc mixed with vitamin C can reduce colds by half a day."

It has been proven in the past that vitamin C was effective in curing certain conditions.

After Dr. James Lind noted that they prevented scurvy

"The Royal Navy decided to start putting lemon juice aboard ships, then Britain starts to dominate the seas. "the world returns to our understanding of vitamins "

The next frontier seems to be the exploration of space as scientists try to keep humans healthy on long journeys to planets like Mars

is the ultimate journey. Compare that to the 30 days it took for Columbus (to sail to America).

"How do you keep people healthy? What will you do to ensure their nutrition and (they) flourish in the space? It's a fascinating question "

Dr. Muller said that his main goal was to get people to think more critically about vitamins."

"Without vitamins we get sick and we can die – these are powerful substances" 19659003] "But they have this halo marketing, so that wherever they are mentioned, people think it's good."

"I want us to be more nuanced in our understanding of these substances. "

Dr. Derek Muller will appear at the Australian premiere of Vitamania: The Meaning and Nonsense of Vitamins in Brisbane on July 28, Perth on July 30, Sydney on August 2 and Melbourne on August 3. [19659029] [ad_2]
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