
The nutrition study the $30B supplement industry doesn’t want you to see - ekovarski
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/04/the-nutrition-study-the-30b-supplement-industry-doesnt-want-you-to-see/
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gamblor956
Like most studies on the value of supplements, it was solely focused on
whether the minerals "extend life" or "prevent cardiovascular disease." The
research on that has been well settled that supplements do neither, so this
study was just a waste of time and money.

First, structural, flaw in the study: its actually just a statistical analysis
of another study...which was based on self-reporting of diets and exercise
habits.

Second, fatal, flaw in the study: they actually found a positive correlation
between supplements and health...until they "adjusted" for demographic data
and activity levels. In other words, they p-hacked until they found the result
they wanted. The big problem? They filtered out everyone who uses supplements
_because_ they derive health benefits from using them. Obviously, once you
filter out all the people who benefit from supplements you're left with the
people who didn't...

Supplements do have benefits with respect to addressing nutrition deficiencies
related to diet, which is the whole point of using supplements in the first
place. And that's the reason that people with higher incomes and activity
levels use them...

All in all, this is just another case of bad science issued by researchers
needing more grant money (or tenure) and being promulgated by the media .

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ncmncm
Fatal? Really?

That kind of adjustment is necessary to get meaningful results.

Like many men my age, I have developed an autoimmune reaction to the bits that
are supposed to absorb B12, so I have to take 5000ug to absorb the 2ug I need.
Should I be counted as benefiting from supplements? Lab tests showed an
elevated homocysteine level, an indication of B12 deficiency. I would say not.

Testing everybody for every possible deficiency, or need for a more than
normal amount, of any particular thing would be very expensive, and
inconclusive. Taking a multi supplement might take care of many such problems
without the analysis, but there is now plenty of evidence for harm in
megadoses. (Maybe I got my auroimmune reaction from megadoses?) In any case, a
multi doesn't have enough to fix my problem.

What is clear from many, many careful studies is that many particular
supplements utterly fail to provide the benefits expected, for most people,
and actually harm some people. That includes particularly vitamins C, D, and
E, and fish oil extracts.

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Creationer
This is not just a problem with pills - it could be a problem for processed
food.

Look at the ingredients used in the 'Impossible Burger' to replicate the
vitamins and minerals found in real meat:

Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin
B1), Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin
B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12

Or the additives found in products like Soylent.

If these vitamins and minerals don't work with pills, do they work with
processed food?

Its already clear that you should take supplement pills at the same time as
eating - so these processed foods at least avoid that problem.

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WheelsAtLarge
Oh wow, I didn't realize how much processing went into the Impossible Burger.
Seems to me that meat substitutes might be a coming threat to peoples health.
People want to eat healthily but we are heading in the wrong direction. Thanks
for the info.

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nwah1
There's thousands of nutritional supplements. Particular vitamins can have
dozens of "vitamers," each exhibiting different properties. There's countless
minerals, herbs, and novel compounds that people take for countless reasons.

There's also countless manufacturers, with wildly varying degrees of
reputability.

To make sweeping claims about "supplements" is kind of like making claims
about "Europeans" or "Asians" or whatever. It's such a ridiculously broad
term.

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youeseh
Does this mean that the only effective way to get our Vitamin D is from sun
exposure?

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troydavis
Here's the published abstract of the study: [https://annals.org/aim/article-
abstract/2730525/association-...](https://annals.org/aim/article-
abstract/2730525/association-among-dietary-supplement-use-nutrient-intake-
mortality-among-u)

The full text is behind a paywall.

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mrguyorama
It's okay, the people who turn to the unregulated and unscientific supplement
industry weren't ever going to read this anyway.

edit:Can I have feedback about what I have wrong or have misunderstood?

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nomel
For an example of how silly what you're saying is, I've known several doctors
that have prescribed supplements to my friends and family members. Eating
different diet can be an alternative, but thinking that no supplements work,
or that anyone who takes them is an idiot, is really simplifying the
situation.

