

'Case closed' against vitamin pills - miralabs
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/16/vitamin-supplements-research/4042037/

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adrianoconnor
Another silly HN headline. The actual quote from the article that was cherry-
picked and butchered this time round was:

"The latest studies on vitamins have some medical experts saying 'case
closed'"

These HN headlines really annoy me, because you/we should know better.

Anyway, favourite quote from the article is:

"The message is simple: Most supplements do not prevent chronic disease or
death"

I don't take supplements, nor do I have any particular views on the subject,
except to say that I think a lot of people probably get a massive dose of
positive feeling from the placebo effect alone, which is proven to be a
genuinely good thing.

~~~
greenyoda
Also, preventing chronic disease or death are not the only valid reasons to
take supplements. For example, if some hypothetical supplement made people
feel happier or more energetic, or prevented a non-lethal but unpleasant
condition like the common cold, it would probably be quite valuable.

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greenyoda
Anyone who says "case closed" is asserting that science will never find
evidence to disprove their theory. Given the previous history of scientific
research (especially in biomedical research), that's a very arrogant and
ignorant statement, and they should probably read John Ioannidis' paper:

 _Why Most Published Research Findings Are False_

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1182327](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1182327)

A less technical discussion of Ioannidis' work can be found here:

 _Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science_

[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/lies-
dam...](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/lies-damned-lies-
and-medical-science/308269)

