I came across an article from slate.com today titled "The Vita Myth: Do supplements really do any good?" (written by Emily Anthes). In this article, she explains the idea that vitamin supplements might not be helping the people who take them as much as they were previously thought to. Whats more, some studies have apparently been conducted that indicate that some nutritional supplements may even be harmful to the human body.
According to the article, "The most recent knock came this spring, when a study of more than 160,000 post-menopausal women, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that the all-in-one pills did not prevent cancer, heart attacks, or strokes and did not reduce overall mortality." Also, "research on a wide variety of patient populations and medical conditions has failed to find much evidence that multivitamins... prevent major chronic diseases in healthy people."
Later on in the article, antioxidants come under attack as well. Supposedly, "not only do antioxidant supplements fail to protect against heart disease, stroke, and cancer; they actually increase the risk of death, according to a 2007 analysis of research on more than 232,000 people, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association".
This article is basically a compilation of several studies that have been conducted in recent years. While (I hope) all of these studies have been conducted by credible experts and scholars, I also think that they're missing the forest through the trees. Now, I'm not doctor, but from where I stand right now, my only thought in reading statements like the two above is "Really? No s***, Sherlock!" Of course multivitamins aren't going to cure chronic diseases... or prevent cancer, heart attacks, or strokes... or reduce mortality rates! There are much bigger fish to fry in the war against those health enemies.
Maybe its the over-processed simple-carbohydrate-ridden food choices that are being chosen by a majority of Americans. Maybe its the lack of education and general knowledge about what types of foods people should or should not be eating. Or maybe, and call me crazy on this one, just maybe it isn't necessarily that vitamins and antioxidants are hurting our health. Maybe people are using the "I take a multivitamin, therefore I am healthy" rationale, whether intentional or unintentional, consciously or unconsciously, to cover bigger deficiencies in their nutritional habits.
So, whats my point of this post? Don't read articles like this, hear "vitamins bad!", and take that at face value. Think a little bit about the reasoning used, consider possible bias that could be present, and ponder other possibilities that could explain what you've read.
*As an aside, I haven't read all of the links for the original studies that are in the original slate.com article. I'll get around to it eventually, and if upon reading them I should come to a different conclusion about this article missing the forest through the trees, I will edit this post stating as much, along with a note in the comments section. And one last thing, yes, I did just plug the new Sherlock Holmes movie. I defy anyone to watch the trailer and tell me it doesn't look awesome to the max.
According to the article, "The most recent knock came this spring, when a study of more than 160,000 post-menopausal women, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that the all-in-one pills did not prevent cancer, heart attacks, or strokes and did not reduce overall mortality." Also, "research on a wide variety of patient populations and medical conditions has failed to find much evidence that multivitamins... prevent major chronic diseases in healthy people."
Later on in the article, antioxidants come under attack as well. Supposedly, "not only do antioxidant supplements fail to protect against heart disease, stroke, and cancer; they actually increase the risk of death, according to a 2007 analysis of research on more than 232,000 people, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association".
This article is basically a compilation of several studies that have been conducted in recent years. While (I hope) all of these studies have been conducted by credible experts and scholars, I also think that they're missing the forest through the trees. Now, I'm not doctor, but from where I stand right now, my only thought in reading statements like the two above is "Really? No s***, Sherlock!" Of course multivitamins aren't going to cure chronic diseases... or prevent cancer, heart attacks, or strokes... or reduce mortality rates! There are much bigger fish to fry in the war against those health enemies.
Maybe its the over-processed simple-carbohydrate-ridden food choices that are being chosen by a majority of Americans. Maybe its the lack of education and general knowledge about what types of foods people should or should not be eating. Or maybe, and call me crazy on this one, just maybe it isn't necessarily that vitamins and antioxidants are hurting our health. Maybe people are using the "I take a multivitamin, therefore I am healthy" rationale, whether intentional or unintentional, consciously or unconsciously, to cover bigger deficiencies in their nutritional habits.
So, whats my point of this post? Don't read articles like this, hear "vitamins bad!", and take that at face value. Think a little bit about the reasoning used, consider possible bias that could be present, and ponder other possibilities that could explain what you've read.
*As an aside, I haven't read all of the links for the original studies that are in the original slate.com article. I'll get around to it eventually, and if upon reading them I should come to a different conclusion about this article missing the forest through the trees, I will edit this post stating as much, along with a note in the comments section. And one last thing, yes, I did just plug the new Sherlock Holmes movie. I defy anyone to watch the trailer and tell me it doesn't look awesome to the max.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
WOD 100107 Thursday
WOD 100107 Thursday
Warm-up
S/S: Overhead Squat 55#, 3x8
WOD: "Double Grace"
*For time:
-30 Squat Clean & Jerks, 135#
-Rest 3 Minutes
-30 Clean & Jerks, 135#
~Focus on good technique, especially going overhead; 1st 30 C&J's are full squat cleans, 2nd 30 C&J's are power cleans.
Finish: Tabata Squats
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
^ ^ ^ BURPEE CHALLENGE ^ ^ ^
Day #7
^ ^ ^ BURPEE CHALLENGE ^ ^ ^
Day #7
No comments:
Post a Comment