Vitamin Supplements: How Much Should We Believe in the Hype?

Recommendations for Mad (L) Unhealthy and Healthy Mad [19659009] This sounds ridiculous and yet it makes sense. Because, aside from those with medically diagnosed deficiencies, the supplements are likely to appeal to two types of people: those who hope that a supplement will be a substitute for healthy habits, and those who have any healthy habits but still have the impression of being sick. The first group is everyone who thinks that a salad cancels a pizza if we eat it together, and this last group is the worried well.

The worried well is a term given to the growing number of people who live their life certain They often go to the doctor to be reassured or have confirmation of their suspected health problems. It's the Worried Well who regularly turns to vitamin supplements for comfort.

A week into my new Vitally Vitamins diet, I attended a seminar by Ben Warren, founder of the BePure Holistic Health Company. The theme was "tired, stressed and everything else" and the audience seemed to be all of the worried well. If the small sample is something to go through, worried wells are white, middle to upper class, and women.

I had read rave reviews about Warren and his BePure products. It has changed the lives of many women, especially those who suffer the unwanted side effects of menstruation. His products are expensive but apparently a worthy expense. You can not put a price on health, and so on. But I was a little skeptical about his methods thanks to a "free virtual consultation" that I had earlier this week. Someone at the BePure clinic asked me, by phone, the quality of my sleep, my digestion and my menstrual cycle, which I answered "pretty well". I was then recommended a multivitamin and a fish oil supplement, and I told them that if it did not cause any noticeable change, I might be suffering from something called adrenal fatigue, which case they had a third product that I should try. But later, I went to this skeptical seminar, which did not stop me from worrying that I was dying. I left this seminar very impressed. Ben Warren is the best seller I've ever seen. If I was not sure of having some sort of health condition, I certainly let him believe.

Warren started with the basics. Drink more water, develop a sleep schedule, try a form of meditation. Everyone nodded. We are on the same page. We believe the same things. He did it for an entire hour. By the time he started presenting more extreme scenarios, we all agreed with him (read: Believing that he was right) for long enough that it was easy to assume that he was right. he would continue to be right. He had established that we were all dehydrated (I certainly was), and needed more sleep, and probably still wanted to lose those last kilos of stubborn weight, but now he was entering why . 19659003] Warren mentioned the process by which cells transfer energy and burn fat, and showed how some people with severe disabilities will struggle to lose weight not just because they do something something wrong but simply because their cells do not work. correctly. Everyone in the room nodded. I have acquiesced. Because who would not want to hear that it's not their fault? Weight gain can be a very real symptom of very real illnesses, but I had a hard time believing that the 60 people in this room were suffering from the same severe deficiency. It continued for an hour. Vitamin B12? Probably deficient. How? Warren listed the four foods containing the most B12, including beef liver and sardines. He then asked who eats these foods every day. Nobody raised his hand. Well – no wonder so many New Zealanders are B12 deficient.

What he said was at least technically correct. He listed four very high foods in B12. And it's true that hardly anyone eats sardines every day. But what he did not list or even mention were the dozens of other foods that contain B12, for example eggs, all meats, lots of fish, milk, and cereals. his.

It was much the same story about vitamin D and iodine. He then posted an impressive and healthy daily meal plan, followed by a list of everything you would miss if you followed him. Fruits and vegetables in New Zealand's supermarkets have virtually no nutrients, he added. "You have to take something," he said, presenting the idea of ​​supplements to the public. "It's very difficult, if not impossible, to get nutrients simply from the food."

The message I received from the seminary was you are probably very unhealthy. But it is not your fault! But there is nothing you can do. But we have the solution!

To sell a solution, there must be a problem. And if people are not aware that they have a problem, they have to put it up. Warren presented so many problems to his audience in such a short time that it would have seemed almost cruel not to propose a solution.

The final disease introduced: adrenal fatigue. It was something I had never heard of for four days but was apparently suffering. Symptoms

Tired in the morning.
Not hungry before 10am
A crisis at 3pm

Here I thought it was just symptoms of being alive. As Warren continued the nod has reached its peak. We were no longer worried well. We were dying.

But is adrenal fatigue a reality? I've talked to health professionals in various fields, all of whom sighed when I said the words. Dr. Ben Albert, pediatrician and researcher working in the field of supplements, assured me that adrenal fatigue "does not refer to any disease known to medicine".

A systematic review of adrenal fatigue entitled does not exist published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, can be found online, but you will have to scroll down in a search Google to find it. His conclusion: "There is no justification that" adrenal fatigue "is a real medical condition.Therefore, adrenal fatigue is always a myth."

BEPure countered by saying that he is "a common term used in the natural health area". It is used, said a spokesman, to describe the depletion of the hypothalamic-pituitary-pituitary-adrenal axis, which is recognized as being essential in our response to stress.

be real, and the HPA axis feature important, systematic examination revealed that "no confirmed method of clinical screening for adrenal fatigue is available."

What the review recognized, however, is the need for people to name a set of symptoms in order to feel that it is real. In this way, "medical adrenal fatigue" has been widely used to describe common symptoms of stress. Being told that you are stressed and should be sleeping more and drinking less coffee is not good news. Being told that you are suffering from adrenal fatigue, completely out of your control, and here is a refreshing adrenal pill to help, it is much better. It's not your fault. Here's a solution:

I told the BePure worker by phone that I felt tired in the morning and that I was suffering from adrenal fatigue. It is difficult to see how this diagnosis can be done with confidence based on the little that I have said (we have never met) yet the clinical term has been presented and a supplement has been proposed.

At the seminar, Warren pointed out that if daily intakes of vitamins and minerals are recommended, these are not "optimal", the "optimal" intake being much higher. BePure Optimal Health Pack is a daily intake of 13 tablets. It's a lot of vitamins and minerals. But our bodies do not always need a lot of nutrients and unfortunately they have to go somewhere.

While some vitamins can be stored in the body (like the sardines B12), "most vitamins, our bodies can only store them," Dr. Albert said. "So if you take a lot of them, you will excrete them in your urine."

In a statement (read it in full here), BePure defends its products, which were "formulated on the basis of years of research and direct experience of clinical nutritionist Ben Warren and the BePure team. Clinic " he said." In addition to that, we have an internal research and laboratory team that includes two PhD scientists who contribute to the formulation of our products. "

[19659003] BePure's approach to health was "holistic" and "personalized to the individual", encompassing "diet, lifestyle and nutritional support". "We spend the majority of our time educating in the first place about the positive impact that diet and lifestyle changes can have on our health and the importance of finding the balance of these. works that suit you …

Strength nutritional supplements in the most bioavailable forms. That's what research shows is the most important, next to the length of time you complete, to support health. What makes sense, eating healthy for a day or even a week is not too much of an impact! That's what we do every day that explains our health. "

A lot of people bought BePure products that night after the seminar, I could not afford to pay nearly $ 200 for a month of supplements, but did I feel better? health vitamin supplements that I had taken in. I felt pretty good.In fact, I was sure that I felt better than two weeks before, before starting Vitally Vitamins subscription. if it was a placebo effect, the results were real.

Or was it something else? Every time I'm a vitamin taker is also an example of me being a healthier person. And at the beginning I am sure it is the vitamins that have improved my health No matter the change of diet that coincides, the increase in exercise and sleep, and consciously tidy environment. Paid for the vitamins, it must have been them, but then, in variably, as the diet goes down and the late nights come back – wow, what happens, do the vitamins stop working?

At the end of my virtual consultation with BePure, I wondered if anyone had the right levels of energy not needing vitamin supplements. "To be honest, with the way most of us live our lives these days, no," the consultant told me at the other end of the line. "I do not even think it is possible to always have lots of energy – I do not think I have ever met anyone who has had enough energy."

And with all the vitamin supplements? "Even then, compared to two years ago before I started taking multivitamins, my energy levels are so much better but they can still be better."

Is it even possible to have optimal energy and health levels? "Yes, I'm sure I think Ben [Warren] is about as close as possible."

I canceled my Vitally membership after a month and I went back to a lifetime without pills. At the moment when I write this, I am incredibly tired and lack of energy. But I write this at 3am because instead of doing it yesterday, I decided to give up sleep and write all night long. I ate terribly for a week and drank a giant energy drink at 1am. It's easy enough for me to identify why I feel that way. So, before turning to supplements looking for a better self, I think I will first try to get there by myself.

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