Do Multivitamins really work?

What is a multivitamin?

• A supplement that contains multiple vitamins
• Believed to help improve one’s health.

Commonly thought that a multivitamin will pick up where your diet lacks.

• How long have multivitamins been used (Centuries)

Useful or Useless?

• Studies show they have no added benefits. The studies that showed no difference in health from those who didn’t take them.
• Studies show they are actually harmful causing what they are said to prevent
• Compare studies – I will attempt to compare multiple studies both in favor of and against multivitamins
• Analyze where the dispute comes from. Do they help or not?

Why these companies continue to make them

• Not caring about people’s health or lack thereof, just money
• The supplement industry rakes in billions every year. Why cares who develops ailments ?
• FDA does not. Even though their website claims that these multivitamins are ineffective and in many cases detrimental, they still allow these companies to produce and sell them. Why?

Why people continue to take them

• They have become a way of life for some people. 1/3 adults in America take a multivitamin or multiple.
• Force of habit
• Some people just don’t know any better or believe they will help
• Placebo effect. Meaning someone can take them and truly believe they are feeling positive results

Getting vitamins from foods

• Which foods contain which minerals
• Possible vitamin deficiency?
• Briefly elaborate that even though we don’t regularly eat the best foods, the vitamins and minerals we need are still there. The reason these foods are bad is because there is just less of it and more things that are not so good for you

Which minerals do what and what effect can an excess on this mineral cause?

Overdoing Multivitamins

• Since we already get nutrients we need from food, supplements would be an excess.
• Will this have any effect on mankind since a large amount of us partake in this harmful intake
• Is it worth trying to get people to stop taking them?

If multivitamins can actually cause harm to people we should without a doubt discontinue them. However if they are not to harmful, just not effective, would it even be worth the effort to try and get such a large amount of people to change their lifestyle habits.

Exactly which vitamins are needed

• Explain/example of water soluble vitamins
• Explain/example of fat soluble vitamins

What foods have these vitamins we need?

• Is any food ok or just natural foods?
• (Specifically) what foods have what vitamins?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/17/251955878/the-case-against-multivitamins-grows-stronger

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/39616169/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/time-kick-multivitamin-habit-studies-suggest/#.VOdfrfl4pcQ

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm118079.htm#why