sebb@pyuxss.UUCP (12/07/83)
My opinions on the subject of vitamins have been formed in two ways. First, my mother is what many might call a megavitamin nut. Second, I've read a few books on nutrition and have formed a few of my own opinions. Currently, I do not take vitamins(I'm still searching the boxes in my apartment for them). I have, in the past. When I take them, I take a lot of them. Most people probably haven't heard of the supplements I take. I take them because I know I do not get a balanced diet. I will discuss how I know this when I answer the last question. I feel that vitamins prevent colds, the flu and probably a number of other viral infections. I'm not sure that vitamins cure diseases(other than deficiencies) but I do believe they aid the immune system in fighting off infections. Therefore colds go away faster if you take megadoses of vitamin C. The medical profession does not like to emphasize vitamins. It would certainly cut into their business if studies showed that vitamins prevented many common diseases. I think a lot of it is ignorance. MD's are not doctors of nutrition And it takes a lot of effort to keep abreast of developments in nutrition. The media is all hype-how unusual. If a kid dies from eating 30,000 Flintstones vitamins, that's news. If Linus Pauling says that vitamin C may help cure colds and cancer, who cares. Just because he's one of the most brilliant bio- chemists in history doesn't mean anything. He's probably going senile anyway. And the little known fact that most of today's foods are nutritionally worthless is certainly not going to sell papers. I guess I should back up that last statement. Our food is so over-processed, it's disgusting. Some examples- bleached flour(they enrich it to put back some of the nutrients they bleached out), refined sugar, frozen vege- tables(removes vitamins A and C), pasturization(removes vitamin C) and the list goes on and on. It's a miracle we get any of the nutrients we need. There are many other things that steal away our vitamins, many of which we cannot control. Pollution and stress are two which we would have difficulty avoiding. When our body metabolises refined sugar it uses up B vitamins. Refined sugar has to be one of the most dangerous things in our diet. Our sugar consumption is staggering-over 100 lbs. every year for every man, woman, and child in the US. Women are particularly prone to vitamin deficiencies. Women who take estrogen(as treatment for menopause and as birth control) need much more B vitamins. Estrogen is changed into estriol, a carcinogen. Added B vitamins aid in the transformation of estrogen to a form other than estriol. So most of you who said you were getting a balanced diet probably aren't. And I sometimes doubt if we can any- more, considering all the over-processed food we eat. Vitamin supplements seem the only way to round out a diet. I'm sure there are many of you out there who disagree with me, but I'm not one to argue with success. I don't know if it's the vitamins, but my mother looks fantastic. If anyone wants more information I'll be happy to provide it. I also welcome any contraversy. Nutrition is extremely important and too many of us are uninformed or misinformed. Sharon Badian
burris@ihopa.UUCP (12/08/83)
We all know that vitamin defiencies are bad for our health, at least that's what we're taught in junior-high school. Does anyone have information as to symptoms of the various vitamin defiencies? I suppose one problem with this is if you are deficient in one vitamin, you are likely missing several. -- Dave Burris ..!ihnp4!ihopa!burris AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, Il.
rene@umcp-cs.UUCP (12/08/83)
Some well known deficiencies are rickets (D?), scurvey(C), and
beriberi (B6?). There are also overdose diseases that are not
generally advertised. The one that sticks in my mind is too much
vitamin A causes symptoms much like a brain tumor and can mask other
serious problems.
- rene
--
"Peoles have feeelings, too"
Arpa: rene.umcp-cs@CSNet-relay
Uucp:...{allegra,seismo}!umcp-cs!reneken@turtleva.UUCP (Ken Turkowski) (12/12/83)
Vitamin K deficiencies can lead to excessive bleeding when wounded. It
is a vitamin that helps clot blood.
Ken Turkowski
CADLINC, Palo Alto
{decwrl,amd70}!turtlevax!ken